The Savior, Child of the Tardis, Son of a Mad Man
by Kuroi In a Black Hole
Summary: Out in the Universe is a bright blue box, holder of a fantastical realm. Inhabiting this box is a mad man who calls himself the Doctor, his son, the Savior of the Wizarding World aka Harry Potter, an immortal man from the 51st century who affects a Captain in front of his name, Jack Harkness, and a pink and yellow once-human who is simply Rose Tyler. What was Dumbledore thinking?
1. In Which Dumbledore does a Strange Thing

Hope you all enjoy! This is like my pet project that I huggle close and have been reluctant to let out in the world.

Anything recognizable obviously isn't mine, despite numerous attempts to steal them.

~~ A Beginning ~~

Number 4 Privet Drive was once to be the home of a very special boy. A boy in whom an entire world placed their hopes in, their futures on, would swear their lives by. A boy who was currently just over a year old and had barely begun to toddle well on two tiny feet but had already saved the world. A boy whose name was, as we speak, being written into history books.

Yes, this is Harry Potter I speak of. Unfortunately for him, or fortunately, since we all know the story of Harry Potter raised at Number 4 Private Drive and it wasn't a very happy one, all in all, the family who lived at Number 4 Privet Drive, The Dursley Family, had died recently in a tragic car crash at a round-about in London. Very unfortunate, the whole thing. Grunnings was out of a mediocre worker, the street had lost their nosiest neighbor and future playgrounds would never be terrorized by the small whale known by a rather monstrously horrid name, Dudley. Harry Potter would also not be placed on their doorstep the morning of November 1st, 1981, mere hours after the deaths of his parents.

So this is where this story must start, for every story has a start. Ours starts with a funny old wizard in bright-colored robes and a pointed hat, holding our protagonist and wondering what he was going to do with a baby. Now, on we go.

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Halloween night of 1981 was turning into a bittersweet celebration for one Albus Dumbledore. Voldemort, the darkest wizard to rise to power in centuries, had been vanquished. The cost of the victory was a hard one and the deaths would be soon remembered, as soon as the hangovers and partying stopped.

At the moment though, Albus was standing in front of the burning house of the family who had died to destroy Voldemort, and the only survivor was nestled in Dumbledore's arms, sleeping, his magic exhausted. Harry Potter, the only child of Lily and James Potter, had become a sensation and a hero in a matter of hours. The same hours he had been orphaned and his only remaining guardian arrested for murder. Long, spidery fingers traced the vivid lightning bolt on Harry's forehead, blue eyes dimmed with sadness.

"My boy, I only hope that we can provide you a better future than the tragedy you have suffered already." The sound of displaced air drew the headmaster's eyes upward, landing on the tall, lean figure of his Deputy Headmistress and he furrowed his brow in confusion. "Minerva, I was under the assumption that you were watching Harry's relatives. Has something gone wrong?" The flashing of Minerva McGonagall's eyes and the strides she took towards him had Dumbledore rethinking his plans. Something was terribly wrong then.

"The Dursley Family is dead, Albus. They died three days ago in a….motor accident? They crashed, in any case. All three of them died instantly. But that is not the problem I have with you. I spoke with some of their neighbors, as a friend of Petunia Dursley's sister. That family, Dumbledore, was absolutely horrid. Lily's sister was nosy and rude, Vernon was more often drunk and violent and their son was indulged with anything he wanted. You were going to leave Harry with that family?" Minerva stopped just short of being in Dumbledore's personal space, eyes flashing and sharp. Dumbledore blinked slowly, centering himself and avoiding looking directly at his old friend. Minerva, when angry, was a very dangerous person.

"It was because of the magic Lily performed to protect Harry. He would have been safe from Voldemort with the wards I would have set up based on the magic. Now, obviously, I have to find something else." He turned his gaze back to the sleeping child.

Minerva's ire decreased, but she was still glaring at Dumbledore. "I was under the impression that You-Know-Who was killed. Are you saying otherwise?"

Dumbledore turned to look at her, eyes sharp. "Tom Riddle performed so many dark rituals that, in the end, he wasn't human anymore. So when the killing curse backfired on him, it killed only the mortal part of him, his body. Turned it to dust, actually. But a shade of him, a sliver of his spirit, ran. And he will grow stronger. He will return one day, and this child will face him again. That is why I wanted to place him with his relatives. I could lay blood wards, tie them to Petunia and the protection on Harry would be infinitely greater. Now I must find another option."

Minerva blinked. "You must be kidding." Dumbledore shook his head. Minerva groaned. "So Harry will have to…are you certain Dumbledore?"

"A prophecy does not lie. Little Harry has been marked, and he will have to fight Voldemort again." Harry's fingers gripped Dumbledore's pinky tight. "The world will rest on the shoulders of this child for many years to come. I do not envy his burden."

The two old magicians looked down at the child sleeping peacefully in the headmaster's arms, blissfully unaware of his destiny, his fate. His future, already plotted by a prophecy told before he was even a year old. He gurgled sleepily, not even realizing the absence of his parents, too young to care. Minerva melted.

"Can I hold him?" Dumbledore smiles and shifts Harry into Minerva's arms. She holds him gently, smiling. "He's so little. It's hard to believe he stopped the Dark Lord. And now without parents. Poor boy." She looked up at Dumbledore, sadness in her eyes. "What are you going to do, Dumbledore? What are we going to do?"

"I don't know, old friend. I really don't."

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Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Order of Merlin, First class recipient, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, most powerful wizard in the UK, was sitting behind his desk, rocking a crying baby and trying frantically to think of any possible way to calm a child. All the children he cared for were of an age where they could be reasoned with and spoken to. This young tyke understood not a word and school was going to be starting up again soon. After the fall of Voldemort, parents were sending their children back to Hogwarts in two days and he would not have the time to care for Harry.

After the tragedy of his parent's deaths, Harry was forced by circumstance to come with Dumbledore. Dumbledore was seriously unprepared for child-rearing, and he was coming to this conclusion after four days with the boy. Fawkes had tried his best to calm the child, but even the phoenix's song failed and the crying level increased. The fire-colored bird had retreated at the beginning of this particular tantrum and he hadn't returned yet. Dumbledore had tried everything he could think of to placate the boy, but little worked for long. He simply wasn't stopping.

Madam Pomphrey had checked out Harry after the first three spells and assured Dumbledore that it was merely the return of Harry's severely depleted magic that was upsetting him and it shouldn't last more than another day. It had been three days since, and Harry was still crying.

Dumbledore rocked the sobbing savior and narrowed his eyes. How powerful was the child, if his magic was still returning. He reached for his wand and twirled it above Harry's head, muttering in gaelic a spell to reveal the boy's aura. There must be something unusual about it.

The magic rippled down from the wand and enveloped the now quiet and curious Harry, Tiny fingers reached out to touch the bubble of silvery energy, and Dumbledore watch as Harry's own magic reached out to examine this new thing. The brilliant thing about this spell was that it would make a person's magic visible and would bring their aura into the visible spectrum. As Harry's magic spread out around him, examining the new, strange spell, Dumbledore's eyes widened.

A person's aura was very specific to their power and skill, their personality and their potential. Each one was unique, but they were only fully unique after a certain age. Most children's auras under the age of ten shared a similar shape. Occasionally, there were those that carried the visions of their future power or potential, but many children shared an innocence that caused a formless or shapeless aura that whirled around them, free and joyful. Dumbledore's aura was full of shimmering threads, shifting into various pictures and images, changing depending on the particular problem he was faced with. Little Harry's was….different.

Shimmering glimmers of light, almost like stars, spun around him, colors twisting and mixing and forming new spheres of color as it interacted with the magic around its host. Harry's eyes lit up as his hands played with the orbs, and his magic happily complied and created colorful balls for him to play with. Dumbledore could barely see Harry through the bright shine of the magic surrounding him, and as he let the aura revealing spell go, the floating balls stayed and Harry's giggles filled the office. Dumbledore blinked, stunned. Harry was….his magic was amazing. The colors reminded him of a miracle he had seen so long ago, and to see it here, surrounding a slip of a boy, was something….something else entirely. He sat and watched Harry play and giggle until he drifted off to sleep.

He gently lifted Harry up and laid him down in the crib transfigured from a once well used book shelf. It had been a worthy sacrifice. Dumbledore gazed down on Harry, knowing that he couldn't raise him, knowing that he would have to find someone else to show the child his path, and it broke his heart just a little. He returned to his desk and pulled out the scroll he had requested from the goblins three days before.

The Potter will. Every person on that list was either Dead, Ineligible or in prison. Sirius Black, in Azkaban, and such a horrible tragedy that was. Peter Pettigrew, Dead. Frank and Alice Longbottom. In Saint Mungo's incurable wing. The Fleatings, Dead. Remus Lupin, a werewolf, not allowed to have Harry by Ministry standards. The Bones, Dead and Madam Bones was in no position to care for both her niece and Harry after losing her entire family. The Kingstons, Dead. And the resort Dumbledore had planned on turning to when he had discovered the spell Lily had used to protect Harry, the Dursley's, had fallen through when Minerva told him they were dead. Little Harry was all on his own in the world.

Many magical families would love to take the child in, would be glad to, would open their hearts to this possibility, but in the wake of the destruction of the battles and the tragedies, Harry needed a stable home, one that wouldn't praise him, raise him on a pedestal or bow to his every whim.

Fawkes swooped in, landing on Dumbledore's chair and whistling softly. Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, I know. I can't take him Fawkes, it isn't within my power. Hogwarts is not equipped to deal with a small child. It just isn't possible. I am unable to care for him like I should. I can't raise him knowing full well I might be sending him to his death. I need someone to take him. To care for him, raise him into what he is meant to be." Fawkes whistled again, louder. "Shhh, the child. He just fell aslee…" Fawkes shrilled impatiently, pointing with a wing at a small cylindrical device on a nearby table. A relic from Dumbledore's past.

The old man's eyes, now wide behind his half-moon spectacles, sparked in comprehension. Yes, yes, if he could find that man…such a strange and powerful man would be able to care for Harry, would be able to keep him safe. He was an unknown factor, Voldemort didn't know of him, no one knew him. Dumbledore had done his research on the man after he had woken from his drunken stupor. There was no information on him, just rumors and mystery. Such a man who was able to keep his identity from being discovered, but with such power was someone who would be able to help him.

He stood and retrieved the object, examining it carefully. He remembered the day he was given it, the reasons he had been handed the strange device.

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_The last spell ending the duel flew through the air, a simple and almost unremarkable spell, one taught to all first year students, a simple petrification spell. But the duel had dragged on so long it was all he could do to send it at his old friend, his former love, and watch the man who had terrorized Europe and almost caused the destruction of the planet fall, still and silent, unable to move, the Elder Wand now scattered feet away from his hand. _

_It was over. The war, the duel, was over, and Dumbledore had ended it. He swayed on his feet, lowered his wand, and with silent tears, watched as the remaining aurors stunned the most dangerous Dark Wizard in history, trussing him up to be carted to Nu__r__mengard, a cruel irony that had Dumbledore chuckling weakly. Yes, he had defeated Gellert Grindelwald. He felt his heart tear just a little bit more. _

_When the wand that had started their obsession flew to his hand and he heard the song of its power claiming him as its master, he couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of his throat. Yes, the horrid irony of it all. He was now in possession of this powerfully ancient weapon. Of course. He ignored the stares from the crowd, the whispers as he staggered away to collapse at the edge of the charred and ruined landscape. He had made the biggest mistake of his life, he had nearly caused the destruction of life on earth because of his pride, his hesitance, his absolute confidence in his intelligence. The tears slipped down his cheeks. _

"_You are a brave man, Albus Dumbledore. I commend you." The voice, unfamiliar but lilting with an odd, northern accent, summoned his attention fully. He looked up. _

_The man who had spoken to him looked young, wide face, broad smile, big ears, but Dumbledore had learned the value of looking past the features of someone's face. His eyes were ancient. Old and powerful and infinitely sad. The smile on his lips contradicted everything he saw in his eyes. "Who are you, friend?" _

_The man laughed. "Yes, I suppose that would be the question, wouldn't it? I'm The Doctor." Dumbledore blinked. Doctor? Was this man a muggle? He couldn't be. This area was spelled with muggle-repelling charms. He wouldn't be able to see him. _

"_Doctor who? I have never seen you before and I am certain I would remember you if I had." The man smiled, lifting Dumbledore to his feet. The Doctor had an inch or so on him. _

"_Just The Doctor. And no, never met before. But I must say, that was rather fantastic. And even more so, you didn't kill him, despite everything he had done. All that misery he had dealt out. That I can only compliment you on. Any other wouldn't have the strength to keep him alive." _

_Dumbledore shook his head. "Not strength, cowardice. He is my mistake, something I must take responsibility for. Killing him wouldn't absolve me of that burden. I have to try and help him, give him the chance to see the error of his ways, and if not, let him die of old age where he can't hurt anyone else. He is a reminder of what I could turn into if I let myself forget that I am fallible." _

_The Doctor smiled wider. "You are fantastic. The epitome of fantastic. Amazing." The Doctor looked Dumbledore up and down. "Come on, let me get you a drink. The champion deserves that at least." The Doctor grabbed Dumbledore's hand and headed off, towards Hogsmeade and the pub. Dumbledore blinked at the sudden exuberance of the man who was dragging him, and wondered why he wasn't taking offence to it, or even arguing. He decided he was too tired to raise a fuss, and if this man was going to get him a drink, well, who was he to argue? He could do with a drink. Soon he would be descended upon by the flock of reporters just waiting for him to make an appearance, to tell him of the brilliance of his duel, to compliment him on defeating Gellert, saving the world. He wasn't quite ready for it. _

_The man with the old eyes wouldn't praise him with empty words, something in Albus knew that. Every word this man spoke felt as if the world took its next breath based on it. He was still thinking when he was dragged into an empty pub. He could have sworn the door had been locked; nearly every door was locked and barred right now, considering the proximity to the dueling site, but apparently not this one. Or the Doctor had managed to open it without him realizing. Albus looked at him with a new appreciation. This man was powerful. Strangely powerful. _

_A chair at the bar was pulled up and Dumbledore was ceremoniously pushed into it. The Doctor ran behind the bar and pulled out a few bottles of fire whiskey, opening two and handing one to Dumbledore. "To responsibility then, Albus Dumbledore." Albus raised an eyebrow. An odd one, this man. _

"_To responsibility." He drained half the bottle. "Who are you, Doctor, to look so young yet have eyes so old?" The Doctor smiled a half smile. _

"_One who has lived through a war. You too have old eyes, eyes older than your age suggests. At 62 years, you have very old eyes. War and conflict can age someone past their years Albus Dumbledore. And one who has to fight for an entire world against someone who was once a dear friend will be aged even more so." _

_Dumbledore blinked. "How do you know so much of me when I know nothing of you?" _

"_It doesn't matter, really. Besides, you are the one who has just won." Dumbledore shook his head. _

"_I have won nothing of consequence. I have merely defeated my own mistakes." _

"_That is a victory in itself. It is never too late to realize your mistakes and to learn from them. I watched as you dueled your old friend, watched as you tried to change him, and realized its futility. As you hardened your hea__rt__ and defeated him and sentenced him to imprisonment rather than death. And that was fantastic. You humans continue to surprise me. The valiant effort some of you go through to try and make things right, it never fails to astonish and surprise me. And you, Albus Dumbledore, are just fantastic. Absolutely brilliant. You are why the human race is so absolutely fantastic. You strive to fix your mistakes, to help, to change the world to be a better place. It is an honor, Albus Dumbledore. An honor. In every possible way." _

_Dumbledore jerked back at those words and looked for falsehood in the Doctor's face. There was none. Only honesty and a small amount of awe, as if he couldn't believe Dumbledore was real. "Who are you? You say things as if you aren't human, yet I can plainly see you are. You don't have characteristics of any creature that would be nonhuman." _

"_Doesn't matter. I want to hear about you. You and Gellert Grindelwald. There is an interesting history there, one I am sure you haven't really told anyone else."_

_Dumbledore took another drink, feeling the fire whiskey slipping into his bloodstream and fuzzing his brain just a bit. Well, it would be a weight off his chest, and this man wouldn't berate him for it. None of it. "Gellert and I were good friend, the best of mates. I loved him, long ago. Before we parted. I still do, in fact. He was the only one I could relate to. Only one fast enough to keep up. I was such an arrogant fool then, thinking I was above everyone because I was smarter than them. I was so angry too, at the world, at the muggles for their intolerance, at the wizards for their incompetence, and the government for its blind obedience to the public masses. We thought we could change it all. Make the world better, even if we killed some people to do it. It was for the greater good, what did a few people mean in the end." Dumbledore looked up at the man he was speaking to, saw no judgment in his eyes. He was listening, really listening. Dumbledore finished off the bottle, reached for another. "My sister, Ariana. She had been attacked by muggle boys when she was little, when they saw her playing with magic. They beat her, she was so traumatized she couldn't control her magic anymore, she was barely coherent most of the time and when she was, she made little sense. My dad went to Azkaban for attacking the boys and Ariana killed my mother accidentally some years later, not long after I got out of school. I met Gellert around then, when we went to live with a relative. _

"_He was brilliant, his mind was absolutely brilliant, maybe smarter than me. His ideas were intoxicating. They captured my attention and we planned. We would find all the Deathly Hallows, we would rule the wizarding and muggle worlds, we would make them better. Then, something changed. We fought over something in the plans, myself, my brother and Gellert. There was a duel, and Ariana was caught in the middle. She was killed. I still don't know who killed her, but when she died, all the plans we had made fell apart there. Gellert left, off to fulfill the plan himself, and somewhere along the way he changed. He changed so much. Rituals, dark magic, it corrupted him so completely. He found the Elder Wand, he started gathering followers, capturing their minds and imaginations with thoughts of a wizard-ruled world. Then, when the muggle world broke into war, he turned Europe into a battle field. _

"_I couldn't help, I just watched, kept Britain out of it, and ignored the pleas for help. Gellert had been the one person I had seen as a friend, and now I was the only one who could defeat him. The whole world cried for me to fight. When I heard of the destruction he had wrought, the muggle war he was manipulating, the deaths he had caused, I knew I had no choice. I had to fight him. He was my responsibility, my mistake, my past. I drew him here, to Britain. I challenged him, taunted him with the invisibility cloak, the location I knew well of. He came, just as planned. And we dueled." Dumbledore paused. Looked at the almost empty second bottle in his hand, then across at the Doctor. The man's eyes weren't pitying, weren't accusing or reproving. Instead, they were filled with understanding. Dumbledore let the tears he had been holding back fall down his cheeks. _

"_The man I had once counted among my friends, the one I have loved, I had defeated. But I couldn't kill him. I couldn't condemn him to death, despite his offences. It isn't my place to decide who lives or dies. I can't be that powerful. It was what once blinded me to the world and what it was. I couldn't do it again. So I let him live. I let him live. And I have to live with my mistake for the rest of my life." The bottle was empty and Dumbledore swayed in his chair. "Did I do the right thing? Was it the right choice, letting him live?" He looked across at the man with the ancient eyes. _

_The Doctor smiled at him. "The curse of intelligence, Albus Dumbledore, is to ask that question and to not know the answer. Gellert Grindelwald was powerful and corrupt, would have destroyed the world if you hadn't stopped him. But in not killing him, you proved you are the better man, for he would have killed you, if in your position. You have the chance to fix your mistake, to make the world a better place. And that, Albus Dumbledore, is fantastic indeed." The Doctor starred at Dumbledore intently, eyes peering into what seemed like his soul. The ever smiling mouth furrowed, not quite frowning but not smiling either. Dumbledore swirled the remainder of the fire whiskey in his bottle, waiting. This man would not be rushed, not unless he was the one rushing. _

_Then without any warning, the Doctor ran around the counter and grabbed his hand. "Come one, I've got something to show you." And, just as he had been pulled towards the pub, Dumbledore was pulled out of it and towards the woods. His feet were frantically trying to keep up with the energetic man's pace and he could barely see where he was going, aside from brushing twigs and branches out of his way. _

_Still, he missed a few and felt them slap his cheek. Vines dragged at his robes and his shoes, not made for running, were beginning to chaff. "Where are we going?" Dumbledore yelled once. He received a smile, wide and full of mischief, in return. _

"_Somewhere fantastic," was the response. Dumbledore would have sighed if he had the breath for it. Instead, when he came to a sudden halt in front of a blue box with 'Police' written across the top, it was all he could to bend over and breathe hard. The enigmatic Doctor smiled and gestured grandly towards the blue box, smiling widely. Dumbledore looked up. _

"_And you have brought me to a muggle police box because…?" He was a little too drunk to remember his manners properly. This didn't seem to faze the Doctor, who just smiled wider and opened the door. _

"_This, Albus Dumbledore, is my home. Come on, come aboard. I want to show you something." Dumbledore stood up and regained some of his motor functions, enough to walk into the blue box. He blinked. _

"_These are magnificent Expansion Charms. I must compliment you. I couldn't detect them from outside, which is quite a marvel." Dumbledore stumbled. "Then again, I am also quite inebriated, so that is understandable." The Doctor shook his head. _

"_Of course. Wizards. You lot always expect the unexpected. And here I was waiting for you to dash outside again. Ah, well, never mind. Can't always get what you want." The doors behind Dumbledore closed unexpectedly."Well, you gonna stand there or come up here and join me?" _

_Dumbledore took a second, proper look around this place the Doctor called home. The walls were rounded, with what looked like lights peering out from almost every spot imaginable. A ramp led upwards towards a round deck, supporting an amazing array of knobs, pulls, buttons and screens. A few chairs were stationed at one side and a long column with some sort of mechanism pulsing within the casing. _

_Dumbledore gripped the railing upwards, keeping his balance by sheer will alone. Two bottles of fire whiskey could do a lot of damage to someone whose magic was drained, and at the moment, Dumbledore could barely summon light even if he was in the darkest of rooms. He set himself on a chair as the Doctor grinned madly at him from the other side of the decking. _

"_So, what do ya think of her? A beauty." He patted the table-top, smiling at it with a fondness that filled Dumbledore's heart with happiness. He could only nod in agreement. How could he disagree, when this man so clearly loved….whatever it was. But it was, in its own sense, beautiful. Strange and odd, but beautiful. _

"_What is it?" he asked softly, gazing at the buttons. He was hesitant to press them, uncertain of their function. He had learned to be cautious with someone else's things over the years. _

_The Doctor paced around it, turning things and pressing buttons and pulling levers. "She is what lets me see the beauty in the world. Something, I think, you need desperately. So, hold on tight, Albus Dumbledore, 'cause here we GO!" And, with that word, he pulled a lever with one hand and spun another dial with the other and the whole room rocked. Dumbledore nearly fell off his seat, except for the use of a quick sticking charm(harmless, miniscule magic). The room spun and Dumbledore reached for something solid to hold onto. He found only the chair next to him. _

"_My, this is a rather violent contraption, isn't it? All this shaking and rocking and spinning. Is it always like this?" The Doctor grinned. _

"_Yep. Failed my test, actually, but she still works like a charm! Here we are." Dumbledore felt the room stop abruptly, stop shaking and rocking and spinning. All of it, all at once, expect for a feeling of floating. The Doctor raced for the door, rushing past the still recovering wizard. "Come on, come see. It's what I brought you out here for."_

_He let the sticking charm go, stumbled off the seat and wished he could remember the words to a Sober-Me-Up spell. They were escaping him at the moment, so he tottered off towards the Doctor and his mysterious surprise. He was expecting to see some landscape or other. It was a magnificent, large-sized portkey. Now he wondered where it had dropped him off at. _

_If the Doctor hadn't grabbed his arm, he would have fallen out into the blackness out of the door. He stopped, stunned. If he wasn't mistaken, he was in outer space. But that was impossible. Some sort of brilliant illusion. A wonderful one. _

"_What kind of magic is this? I am unfamiliar with it. The illusion is perfect, I can't detect a single spell holding it together. Marvelous. Absolutely amazing." Dumbledore heard the Doctor sigh, amusement trickling into his voice as he spoke. _

"_Wizards, always thinking of spell work. This is no spell work, no magic of the kind you know. This, this is creation Albus Dumbledore. Look at it, at the clouds of gas swirling together, creating and building and starting a whole new solar system. Really look at it Albus, because you, who have seen so much death and destruction, are watching the earth being born. You are watching the first beginnings of the star Sol, forming the nine planets of your solar system, creating the elements for life. This is the magic of the universe, working and moving and pulling and pushing in the infinite miracle called creation."_

_Each gesture and word from the Doctor rang with certainty, with truth, with absolute conviction, that Dumbledore couldn't help but feel them ring in his soul, the echo of these words colliding with his mind, his heart, his thoughts. He looked closer, looked again, out the doors of the strange little blue box. _

_A cloud of multi-colored gases spun together around a bright, yellow light, folding and furling and spreading out into discs, to rings, to create the planets. The colors, reds, blues, greens, yellows, browns, oranges, blacks, every color in the world, in the universe, collecting and colliding and mixing, throwing clouds into the inky blackness, collecting and scattering, spinning furiously around and around for millions and millions of miles, farther than Dumbledore's eyes could see. _

_The darkness that had been lingering behind his eyes since he had fought Grindelwald, since he had watched his sister die, since he had seen the errors of his mistake, were banished for just those minutes he gazed upon this creation, this brilliant, fantastic birth of life itself. This miracle. He felt his feet give out beneath him and sensed the Doctor lowering him to sit on the edge, dangling his legs over the door frame. _

"_This…this is amazing," he breathed, just taking it in. The Doctor hummed in agreement. "This is birth, creation, where everything starts. In among those gas particles are the ingredients for life on Earth, for flowers and birds and trees and water, for kittens and clouds and every human life. The possibility for laughter and smiles and joy. It's all here, swirling around us. This is…." He stopped, unable to find the words to describe it. _

"_Fantastic," The Doctor said, kneeling behind him. "The word you're looking for is Fantastic. It's absolutely fantastic." _

"_Yes, it is. I couldn't agree more." He turned to look at the remarkable man behind him. "Why are you showing this to me? Why am I the one you chose to see this?" The Doctor smiled softly. _

"_You, Albus Dumbledore, needed something to remind you that not everything is dark and destructive, that there is beauty in the universe. You are important, more important that you could even begin to imagine. It is my pleasure to show you beauty again, to show you the wonders of a universe killed with more life than you can begin to imagine." The Doctor gazed out at the swirling mass of elements. "I always love watching the creation of life, there is something so uplifting about it that it never fails to remind me that there is goodness out there. I wanted to share it with someone who needed it as much as I have." _

_Dumbledore looked at the man who had dragged him into a brilliant and bright world, looked at the lines on his face, the softness in his eyes. This man…his life must be remarkable, to see the hope in one as dark as he, to listen to his story, to take him to a miracle, to never once ask Dumbledore of anything. His eyes were so old, so ancient, so full of rage and sadness and anger and joy, with an impossible hope and wonder lingering behind the devastation so plain on his face. If one could ever capture the emotion his eyes communicated, Dumbledore was sure it would overwhelm some people to the point of insanity. So, instead of gushing and kow-towing to a man who had probably been bowed to by kings, he laid a hand on his arm, waited for those remarkable eyes to focus on him, and softly said,_

"_Thank you." The smile he got in return was brimming with ecstatic happiness. _

"_You are absolutely welcome, Albus Dumbledore. Absolutely welcome." _

_For a few hours, the two just sat and watched an entire solar system being born, taking in the beauty of it, basking in the fantasticness of the universe. As Dumbledore began to doze, head drooping, the Doctor led him back inside, setting him against the control panel._

"_Thank you, Albus Dumbledore, for everything." Dumbledore blinked. Those were not words he had been expecting to hear. _

"_Why…are you thanking…me? You have done so much for me…I cannot repay you…" The Doctor chuckled. _

"_Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard since Merlin himself. You gave me hope again. Watching you duel an incarnation of evil and spare his life, you gave me hope that I could change, that I could fine that in myself again. It is a wonderful thing, to see you and your existence and your future. You are fantastic, Albus Dumbledore." Dumbledore smiled. _

"_You are…a remarkable man, Doctor. Your…eyes. They are so old, so full of despair and grief and hope. I…I hope you will find what you…are looking for." Dumbledore's eyes dropped almost closed. The Doctor laughed softly. _

"_Truly fantastic. Worthy of your genius." Dumbledore felt something cylindrical being pressed into his hand. "This will call for me, if you ever need my help. Even remarkable souls need help sometimes. You can call me with this. If I am able to, I will come to give what aid I can." He closed Dumbledore's hand around it. "Good bye, for now, Albus Dumbledore."_

_Dumbledore's eyes closed, asleep, dreaming of swirling clouds of dust and life and creation. He woke up next to a tree, his hand still clasped tightly around the device the Doctor had given him. He smiled. Whether it had been an illusion or not, magic or real, the Doctor had given him something he hadn't had in a while. _

_Hope. Hope, joy, wonder. A wonder that only small children possess, except for the man with the ancient eyes. Dumbledore pulled himself up and clutched the silver cylinder tightly. One day, one day he might see that remarkable man again, and he would be able to thank him properly, ask him why his eyes were so old, ask if things like that he had seen in the blue box were real. But until then, he would live and hope and see the world with wondering eyes for as long as he was gifted with life. _

_He staggered towards the sound of voices. He could deal with the horde of reporters now, now that he had that wonder in his heart. Reporters had nothing on the Doctor, they were just a nuisance._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

He still remembered those hours, watching creation whizz by him, the colors. In his darkest hours, he would peer into the pensive and relive it, see it again, watch the worlds being born.

Now, in the present, with a sleeping child who had no home and only a slim chance of a future, Dumbledore turned the strange little device over in his hands. It looked as if it had not aged a day since it was given to him. The silver casing, the three bright blue buttons on the top, all still shining in the light. The remarkable man who had given it to him was powerful, powerful and dangerous and compassionate and fantastic. He was one who could raise Harry, show him the wonders of life. Now all he needed to do was call him and convince him. He had a feeling that would be harder than it seemed. He hesitantly ran his finger over the top button, pausing. He looked at Fawkes.

"Calling him is the right thing to do, right?" Fawkes chimed brightly. Dumbledore nodded with more compunction. He pressed down. As the device pulsed, he could only hope the Doctor came soon. Little Harry was starting to wake, and Dumbledore did not know how long he could take care of the small child. He rocked the cradle, hoping to lull the child back to sleep. The boy fell into a fitful slumber, fists balled beside his head. Fawkes flew over, landing at the head of Harry's cradle, singing softly and sending the boy into a deeper sleep. Dumbledore looked gratefully at his familiar. That had certainly saved him time and a headache.

He returned to the desk and the device that had been with him for years, decades. He hoped it wouldn't take that long for the Doctor to turn up, or that the Doctor wasn't dead. That would be rather unfortunate. He sighed and laid his head in his hands.

"Fawkes, my dear, how are we ever going to solve this? I don't believe anything could be as challenging as raising a child." He heard the alert from the guardian statue chime. "Ah, that should be Minerva with the list of returning students. Something to take my mind off this whole mess." The knock at the door followed shortly and he summoned the guest in. "Yes Minerva, I do so hope you have that list ready…." Dumbledore looked up. Yes, that was Minerva, but another person was with her, a young man in a dark blue suit and a long brown coat, glancing around his office with avid interest.

"I must say, this castle of yours is rather spectacular Albus Dumbledore. All those moving stairs and talking portraits. Brilliant, really. Such inventive use of psionic energy. You all really have manipulated it rather extensively I almost can't recognize it. Strange things, you humans. You change so much about something so commonplace that it is so uniquely you. Brilliant!" A wide smile full of white teeth flashed across the room. Dumbledore stared in wonder.

"Dumbledore, who is this man? He just showed up, wandering through the hallways and asking for you. I must admit, he is a strange one, worse than you, if that's possible. Talking on and on about energy and particles and stopping at all the portraits and asking them personal questions. Rather strange, if I do say so myself." Minerva stood near Harry's cradle, hand on the wooden frame, sharp eyes demanding answers from behind flashing spectacles.

Dumbledore stood up. "If I am correct, this is the man who once listened to my foolish rambling many years ago. Strange, though. I remember you with larger ears and less hair." The Doctor smiled widely.

"Ah, that was a lifetime ago, really. Quite a lifetime ago. I must say, I like this face better. The hair's thicker, though I really wish it had been ginger. Never been ginger before." The man tugged at a lock of his hair. Minerva raised an eyebrow.

"Am I needed then, Albus? I do have that list to finish." Dumbledore glanced back at Minerva.

"Yes, yes, that's all good. Thank you for showing him the way. I rather suspect he would have wandered for a while otherwise." Minerva looked sharply at the Doctor, then at Dumbledore.

"Alright then. I'll be back later with that list." She smiled down at the sleeping Harry. "Night Harry. Sleep tight." She left the room, leaving the Doctor and Dumbledore alone.

"So, you're really, him, the Doctor who showed me my miracle to me all those years ago. You look different. Any reason?" Dumbledore settled back behind the desk, looking over the man standing in front of him. He was tall, though maybe an inch shorter than he had been before, with a smaller frame and an angled face. His hair was wild, standing on end and his smile was bigger, if possible. His eyes though, were still so old, older than before. This alone convinced Dumbledore that it was the same man. No one could fake the age in this man's eyes.

"Ah, well, you know. Things happen, change comes and goes. Time's all wibbly-wobbly, really. Too many threads to keep straight. Spend too much time trying to figure out when things happen you'll go mad. You just keep moving forward. All that works, in the end. Can't change too much, otherwise it all comes back to bite you." The Doctor picked up a whirling gizmo spewing red smoke. "This is fascinating. Monitoring the state of all the wards on this castle from the ones moving the stairs to the defense wards at the edges. Brilliant, The flux of energy around this castle must fuel the ions within the core, keeping the mechanism, spinning rapidly. The color must change depending on which ward is down. Must be the….student monitoring ward then? Since there aren't any student here, right? Sounds right, right spin and everything….oh, and this one! You are brilliant! Keeping tabs on the ministry. Little messenger straight to you. Must be out of whack, your government. Wouldn't have this little gadget active if it wasn't."

The smile wasn't as bright when he directed it at the Headmaster, the edges were dark, grief hung around his cheeks, depression lurked in his eyes. Dumbledore resisted the urge to send a legilimacy probe towards the man, to see what had happened to dramatically alter this man's emotional balance, his mood, his mental stability so drastically. He was sure it would be detected and he couldn't afford to have a man as powerful as this one angry at him. So he kept his mind to himself and hoped he would find an opening to ask. He instead looked over this stranger who had saved him decades ago.

The face was young, angled and with high cheekbones. That ever smiling mouth revealed bright white teeth and tanned skin was pulled tight on a skinny frame. His shoulders were smaller, well fit in a dark blue pin-striped suit and long brown duster. In fact, his whole frame was skinny and long arms tucked hands into pockets. But still, that ancient, ageless pain still hid in his eyes, a desperation for something that Dumbledore couldn't name. The wonder and joy he had been so inspired by were masked over by rage and pain and self-loathing that he hid well under a smile and shrug of the shoulders as he moved around the office, marveling over this spinning thing, that spewing thing, the other beeping thing. It was astonishing, how well he could hide it. He turned back to Dumbledore, hands back in pockets, wide smile on his face. "So, Albus Dumbledore, Wizard-kinds answer to Genius. Most brilliant wizard to grace the earth since Merlin; what did you call me for?"

Dumbledore cleared his throat and waved his wand, conjuring a cushioned chair. The Doctor smiled brilliantly. "You may look different, but you are much as I remember you, with your cryptic knowledge and old eyes. What ages you so fast for one who looks so young? Most with eyes that look ancient are old men with white hair and wrinkles. Their faces and their bodies show their pain. You hide yours so well behind your youthful appearance and brilliant mind that the only thing that shows your pain is your eyes. It…inspires a certain curiosity, a drive to know the man behind the mask, if you forgive the cliché." The Doctor smiled softly, more of a lip quirk than anything else. His eyes found a small, spinning golden sphere and then looked beyond it, falling into a past that Dumbledore would never know.

He was silent for a number of minutes, mind far away from here, so far Dumbledore wondered if he had the ability to spirit-travel. Then his presence returned and Dumbledore watched the awareness return to his eyes. They looked tired now, so old. The Doctor sighed. "I apologize. A trip down memory lane is always a long trip with me."

"Where did you go, Doctor?" He said it in a voice that was low, soft, just barely carrying over to the other's ears. It was a voice that coaxed words out of diplomats and ten-year olds, the darkest of lords and the most mischievous children. The look he received in return was one of amusement and despair.

"I am far older than you Albus Dumbledore. Memories are a painful thing when you have lived so long. So much wrong, so much pain and guilt. Everyone has their fair share of it." The tone wasn't accusing or reprimanding, just soft and firm. And as close to a perfect non-answer that Dumbledore had ever heard.

A number of questions sprang to the Headmaster's mind, probing and curious questions, and all these question Dumbledore was nearly dying to ask, but when he saw the look in those brown eyes now looking directly at him, he bottled them up and hid them.

"Sorry. My troubles aren't yours." The Doctor ran long fingered hands through his hair, breathed hard, then smiled. "Alright then, you didn't call me here to talk about me. Let's get on with it." The Doctor leaned back in his chair, smile affixed.

Dumbledore sighed, steepled his fingers, leaned on them. He gazed at the Doctor, the seriousness of his eyes wiping the smile off ever young face. "The wizarding world is in shambles, just now recovering from devastating loss and destruction. Times are desperate for me, despite the celebration sweeping the wizarding world. Another burden of genius is knowing when foes are still alive and dangerous, despite all evidence to the contrary." Dumbledore gazed down at the desk as the Doctor leaned forward on his knees, eyes now serious.

"I was concerned when I received your call. I had wondered if you would ever need to use it, considering your conviction to help the world and your own personal power. When I got the message, well, I couldn't resist coming to see what it was that you called me for." The Doctor leaned back in the chair, sighing. "You really have a talent for chair making, don't you? Really comfortable, these. Brilliant." Dumbledore smiled slightly.

"Yes, I am rather proud of that skill. Took me quite a while to master getting the cushioning just right. First it was too hard, then so soft I almost lost a student in one, but eventually I got it right." Dumbledore smiled serenely, then shook his head. "A well, old matters for another time. Onto more serious matters. You remember what I told you of Grindelwald, all those years ago?" The Doctor nodded.

"His goals for the Deathly Hallows and ultimate dominion. I remember. Has he returned?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, not Grindelwald. One of his former followers though, followed his footsteps, then went further. He sought not only the Deathly Hallows, but immortality itself. He named himself Voldemort," The Doctor snorted. Dumbledore grinned darkly. "Yes, Flight-from-death. A bit of mutilated French now a dark stain upon language itself. Not entirely creative in the naming process, but his mind is brilliant. Twisted and corrupt, but brilliant all the same. He managed things no wizard has in centuries and twisted himself beyond humanity. He became a thing of nightmares, cloaked in dark magic and searching for an escape from death. He searched so far that he created rituals. He became the darkest wizard in history." The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"And how can I help? This sounds a little beyond me, really. Magic isn't my area of expertise." Dumbledore shook his head.

"No, He has been defeated rather recently, which is why I am in this predicament, really. It is his defeater I need your help with." A shrill cry rang through the air. "And there he is, awake again, so soon. Come, Doctor, meet the savior of the wizarding world." Dumbledore reveled in the confusion on the Doctor's face as he headed for the crib.

"What?" Dumbledore picked up the crying Harry and patted him on the back, settling the babe into hiccups and sniffles. Large emerald eyes peered at the Doctor. "What?" Dumbledore chuckled. Harry reached out for the tall man, giggling. "What?"

"This, Doctor, is Harry Potter, orphan of Lily and James Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived." Dumbledore held out the small tyke. When a panicky expression passed over the Doctor's face, he laughed openly. "Hold him Doctor. I am sure, in all your time, you have held a child."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Yes, but it has been many years, many lifetimes ago. Before you would even imagine…" The Doctor trailed off, taking Harry from Dumbledore. He held him on his hip, watching as Harry clutched his jacket. A smile crossed his face. "You certain this little tyke was the one who defeated this Voldemort character? He looks a little on the young side."

Dumbledore settled back behind his desk. "Yes, Tom Riddle, his name before he took on the moniker, was defeated by this child. I must admit, Lily did perform a spell, old magic, that gave Harry some protection, but there is no true protection against the Killing Curse. That is what the scar on his forehead is from, the curse backfiring. Tom was forced out of his body, his mortal shell collapsing, and he exists as a shade, a weak shade, whose anger will fuel his growth. Little Harry is the one who has been prophesized to defeat him completely." The Doctor, who had been watching avidly as Harry gnawed on his finger, looked up sharply.

"A prophecy of one so young? Do you have a copy?" Dumbledore nodded.

"I was present when it was delivered. Here, I can let you see it." Dumbledore turned to his cabinet and rifled through, before returning with a stone basin. "This is a Pensive. I can show you the whole thing. One second." Dumbledore raised his wand to his temple, drawing out a silvery-white strand and depositing it into the bowl. He stirred once, the mists following the wand tip, then tapped the side.

The Doctor watched as a figure of a woman with large glasses, wide eyes, too much jewelry and layers of clothing rose from the bowl and began speaking in a low, guttural tone of voice.

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"_

The Doctor narrowed his brows. "That is both specific and unspecific. How do we know it is this young one here?" He gestured at Harry, who was now tugging happily on his coat. Dumbledore sighed.

"That was the conundrum. At first, it could have referred to either Harry or another boy, Neville Longbottom. However, Neville was never confronted by the Dark Lord, his parents were driven into a coma by his followers. Harry here survived the Killing Curse and that lightning bolt scar marks him. His parents faced and defied Tom three times and he was born on July 31st within months of the prophecy's reveal. Now he is all that survives of his family." The Doctor nodded solemnly, then blinked.

"So, Voldemort is gone for now, this is the prophecy child, what do you need me for? Has to be something important, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten a call. What, nearly thirty eight years since I saw you last, give or take?" Dumbledore nodded.

The Doctor watched as Dumbledore tapped the table speculatively with his fingers. How to best ask this question? "Harry here is without parents, yes? His other family was killed a few days ago in a motor accident, and others on his parents will as caretakers are either dead or ineligible for the position of caretaker. So, well, Fawkes here…" Fawkes, who had sat and watched the proceedings with interest, squawked indignantly. Harry giggled, Dumbledore looked sheepish, and the Doctor looked like he was starting to catch on.

"Oh no, you have got to be kidding. A joke, right? No no no, this isn't going to happen." The Doctor looked between the child on his lap and the old man seated across from him. "You cannot just ask me to raise the savior of the wizarding world. I am not qualified. No no no no no, not happening."

Dumbledore sighed. "You have to understand, Doctor, you are my last hope. The wizarding world is in shambles. His mother's family was killed a week ago, all his father's family is dead. His father's friends are either dead, in prison or banned from having children due to idiotic laws. Those named on the will are dead or insane. There is no one I can turn to to keep Harry safe. You, Doctor, you whose name isn't found anywhere, you, who can change your face and appear in Hogwarts, you, who have seen so much of life, can keep him safe. I know you can. I need him safe, raised well. Raised to become who he is meant to be."

The Doctor looked at Dumbledore with sharp eyes. "And I can do a better job than you? You run a school full of children, practically run the government, and are rather brilliant. You can't think of anything to keep him safe besides giving him to a complete stranger? Are you daft?" Dumbledore smiled widely.

"Daft is probably the least offensive word used to describe my state of mind, but no matter. The brilliance of the plan, Doctor, is that you are an honorable man who is also brilliant and could probably run a government if you put your mind to it. The fact that you are a stranger is a bonus, because if I could not find any information on you, I am certain Voldemort would be unable to as well."

The Doctor grimaced. "And why would I be a better choice than you? I have destroyed more of the universe than you will ever see, I have lost more people to my own actions than exist on Earth. I couldn't even take care of my own friends, their family. Why am I, someone who Death follows, a better candidate for child raising than you?" Dumbledore blinked. He felt like he was blinking a lot with the Doctor around. But the emotions he had seen in the man's eyes were harsh. Dumbledore knew that Harry would give him back his hope and wonder just as he would keep Harry safe.

"Besides the fact that I have no idea on how to handle children younger than ten for any extended period of time? I am a busy man. I can't keep him close or safe, and I am too easy a target for Tom. It would be obvious of Harry's location, and I can't very well leave my responsibilities behind. I am unfit to raise a child. I failed with my own sister and with Tom himself. I don't trust myself to raise him properly." Dumbledore looked to the ground as Fawkes trilled sadly behind him. "And you , Doctor, you say such harsh things about yourself, but even I can see you flinch at your own words. Your regret and guilt inspire the best in you, something I have a hard time doing. You can teach Harry so much I cannot." '_and he can teach you'_ he thought.

The Doctor looked at Harry pensively, looking deep into his soul. The energy of the Time Vortex swirled around the small child, more energy than he had seen in years. The boy's emerald eyes stared back at him from within the energy, bright and green. The power within this child, his capabilities, they were beyond belief. He looked back at Dumbledore. "You know how powerful he is, the strength of his magic?" Dumbledore nodded sharply.

"Yes. It is a reason I wish him to go with you. His own power is much like a beacon, and without a shield he is visible for miles to those who know how to sense him. You, with your mysteries and impossible existence, would be able to hide him. Of that I have confidence. Please, Doctor, you are my last chance, my last hope for him. Young Harry deserves to have a life, one I could not provide him with. His own future, already foretold, is dark. I don't know if I could raise him in good conscious, without corrupting him irrevocably." The Doctor's eyes flashed dangerously, and Dumbledore shrunk back in his chair at the intensity.

"So you would ask me to raise him, ready him for a battle he may die in, so you would not have to?" The Doctor searched Dumbledore's face for an answer, saw the truth of that statement, and frowned sharply. "You, Albus Dumbledore, have grown too complacent with your life over the years, comfortable in your position behind the desk, manipulating the strings and never on the frontlines. You fear it, your own power, your ability to destroy utterly whatever is in your path and you haven't learned how to harness that strength. If I didn't fear what you would turn such an innocent into, I would leave him with you out of spite, to make you learn."

Dumbledore sat up in his chair, hope in his eyes. "So you will take him?" The Doctor looked down his nose. For a moment, that feeling of absolute submission he swore he would never feel again, not after Grindelwald and the death of his family, made his breath catch and he resisted the urge to fall to his knees and beg forgiveness.

"What has happened to the courageous man I met all those years ago? That man wouldn't hesitate to raise Harry into a wonderful man, but you call a complete stranger to take him off your hands because you don't trust yourself?"

Dumbledore frowned. "The years have not been kind. My mistakes have given me food for thought, and you are right, I don't trust myself to raise him. I fear I wouldn't do him justice, that I would impart too much of an old philosophy on a world that needs new eyes, new perspectives."Blue eyes looked up into brown. "You are a dynamic, changing and brilliant man, Doctor, one I would trust to give that perspective to the future of this world."

The Doctor laughed softly, before hoisting Harry higher on his hip. "I will take Harry, but you will have no part in his life. He will be beyond your reach, even with all your gadgets and gizmos here." The Doctor took a moment to inwardly curse his need to protect the innocent. "Harry will not be what you expect him to be when you see him next."

The elderly wizard frowned. "What do you mean, beyond my reach? He is to be schooled here when he turns eleven. Will you bring him back then?"

The Doctor looked down at the child he was holding tightly to him. "He will be back when he needs to be, not a moment earlier. Good bye, Albus Dumbledore. I hope you regain some of that brilliance I saw in you when I met you all those years ago." Dumbledore watched the door close and Harry leave his life, held in the arms of one of the most dangerous men he had ever seen. The Doctor was probably more dangerous than Voldemort; infinitely more compassionate, but infinitely more dangerous.

He ran a hand through his beard and stared at Fawkes, who was watching him with amused eyes. "I suspect that, while I was successful in my endeavor I was also outsmarted in the end. It has been a while, my friend, since someone got the better of me." Dumbledore frowned. "What a remarkable man. Harry shall be rather magnificent, raised by such a man." Fawkes trilled his agreement. The guardian alert went off, and Dumbledore sighed. Minerva again, most likely. Hopefully with the list and not asking why the man she had escorted in here scarcely and hour ago was now leaving with Harry Potter in his arms.

Unfortunately for him, she did not have a list. She instead had a stern expression that turned sharply downward as she glanced at the empty cradle. "What did you do Albus? Why did I just see that man walk off with Harry? Who is he? What is he doing with the boy? How do you know him?" Dumbledore gestured to the chair still in front of his desk.

"Sit, Minnie. I expect I shall have a bit of explaining to do." Minerva huffed, but sat anyway. She spun her wand and conjured some tea, pouring two cups before leaning back.

"So then, start Albus. I have plenty of time." Dumbledore sighed.

"That man is the man who is going to be raising Harry Potter. He is the man who, when I had defeated Grindelwald, took me out for a drink and made me tell him my story. He listened and didn't judge. He showed me beauty in a world that, at the time, was endlessly dark. He was….he was remarkable. And he came when I called for him, and he proved once again how remarkable he was. He is the only one to have ever seen so easily through me, through my plans, outsmarted me, and proved just how insignificant I am. And I trust him to raise Harry right."

Minerva held her cup close to her mouth. "But who is he?"

Dumbledore shrugged. "Honestly, I am not really sure. His name is The Doctor. Other than that, I don't know much. But if I don't know much, then neither will Voldemort, and that means Harry will be safe. He will be kept safe and raised well, beyond the reach of whatever Tom Riddle has become. It is the only hope we have left, Minerva. I took it. I only hope that, in the end, Harry will be what he was meant to be.

Minerva stared at Dumbledore. "For all our sakes, I hope you are right Albus. Because you just gave the savior of the wizarding world to a stranger whose name we don't even know. If this ever gets out, I can't imagine the outrage the public will express, not to mention the ministry."

Dumbledore sighed. "I imagine it wouldn't be pretty. But right now, and for the next few years, they will be too busy setting it all to rights so by the time they come asking me for the location of Harry, he will be hidden with his mother's relatives in a remote corner of England. I have time to create a believable story. Now we can only hope Harry will reappear by the time he is to start Hogwarts.

Minerva frowned but didn't say anything. She sipped at her tea and stared at the wooden cradle that, for four days, held the savior of the wizarding world. Now, he was who-knows-where with a stranger. She wasn't seeing a happy ending.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dumbledore stared at the calendar on the wall. It was September 1st, 1991. The day Harry was to start Hogwarts. Unfortunately there had been no sign of him at Platform 9 3/4s, the owls that held his letters merely circled around the castle, flying absolutely no where, and all of Dumbledore's scrying equipment had failed dramatically. So he was now hoping that The Doctor would return with Harry sometime before the feast, showing up mysteriously as he had last time.

He reached for the cylindrical device he had used last time to call the Doctor and pressed the top button. Maybe he would respond to the summons. Dumbledore would only hope.

But, as the Sorting took place and the feast passed with no sign of Harry Potter or the Doctor, he sighed. Minerva's glares from the stool, then from beside him, were overwhelming. The 'I-told-you-so' look had him glancing away. Dumbledore searched the hall again, connected to the castle. No activity, no mysterious appearances. The Doctor had not returned with Harry. The Headmaster could only hope that he would bring the boy soon. Maybe a minor delay. He could only wait and hope.

The first week of school passed, and with it, the whispers had spread. Where was Harry Potter? Was he going to a different school? Was he dead? Was he captured? Killed? Imprisoned? And those were the normal rumors. There had been one that declared Harry had gone to live with the mer-people of the Mediterranean and had turned into a fish, and another that swore Harry was in retreat to the Tibeten mountains with monks and was training to become a priest.

Unfortunately for Dumbledore, Harry Potter's absence meant the Ministry got involved. He had to sigh at the idiocy of the people. An entire world praising and idolizing on a boy barely eleven years old and panicking when he wasn't at school. Now the might of the wizarding government was coming to bear on the shoulders of the one who was responsible for taking care of the boy, and his own staff were beginning to send looks his way. Minerva was the worst of them all. She had been spitfire after the Sorting, he recalled. Yelling all sorts of words at him, at letting Harry go with that 'strange man' then losing track of him completely. She had broken a few of his whirring devices and had a good hissy fit before collapsing in a chair.

"What are we going to do Albus? Harry Potter not coming to Hogwarts not only causes a spectacle of you, but soon, when He returns and Harry is not here, the moral of the wizarding world will fall." Dumbledore looked at his Deputy Headmistress and sighed.

"Honestly, Minerva, I really don't know. I haven't managed to get in contact with the Doctor and not even Fawkes can find Harry. We will just have to hope he returns soon. It is early in the year yet, there is still time."

Minerva gave him a glare over her spectacles but said nothing. She just sunk further into the chair. Together, they sat and contemplated the future.

~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~~~

October 31st, 1991. Almost two months with no sign of the Doctor or Harry. Minerva had been ignoring him, Severus had been gloating and Hagrid was beginning to worry. The Ministry was beginning to question Dumbledore's competence and the man himself was wondering if he had made the right choice all those years ago. The Great Hall, filled with floating candles, enchanted pumpkins, flying bats, was merely informing Dumbledore that Harry was still missing.

He toyed with his glass of pumpkin juice, staring into its depths. Harry was missing, the Doctor hadn't answered his summons yet, and anyone of importance in the world was sending him daily letters and missives and a few Howlers. He needed to find the boy soon, very soon, before his sanity gave out.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't realize the hall had fallen silent until he felt a wind blow, rustling his beard, and a strange, steadily increasing sound, like waves of a soft alarm, fill the room. He followed the gazes of every student until his eyes landed on a slowly appearing blue box with 'Police' written across the top.

He would never forget that sound, that noise, that box. The box that showed him creation. He rose to his feet, ignoring the questioning glances sent his direction. That was the Doctor's box, the Doctor's home. The one that Harry left in ten years ago. He was back. Slightly late, granted, but he had returned.

The door creaked open, and a small, black-haired head peered out, bright emerald eyes glittering in the candlelight. "Um…Dad? I think we're a couple months late. It's…what's that holiday with the pumpkins and bats?"

"Halloween Harry, Halloween. Jeez, it's like you all forget about these things." A deeper voice answered the boy. Harry smiled, stepping out into the hall.

"Sorry we don't have a calendar in the TARDIS Uncle Jack." Harry glanced back, a sneer on his face. "So yes, we landed on Halloween, October 31st, by the looks of things. Weren't you aiming for late August?"

The face of the man Dumbledore knew as The Doctor appeared. "Ah well, a couple months late, right? Not like I'm a year, or a century, off. Done that before. Met the queen then. Brilliant time. Lupine wavelength variform. Anyway, it's 1991. Besides, I love Halloween. The costumes, the candy, it's brilliant."

"Is there anything that isn't brilliant to you Doctor?" a female voice said, its owner sliding out of the door. She looked young, blonde and pretty. The Doctor wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Nothing at all!" he said brightly.

Harry rolled his eyes as a man in suspenders and boots stepped out the door. "It's like they forget there's others in their vicinity," Harry complained. The suspendered man chuckled. Said something in reply.

He was too far away to hear their conversation clearly, especially now that the students had begun clamoring again, until the door slammed open and Professor Quirrel stumbled in, shaken and reeling. The four interlopers looked at him, eyes bright and interested.

"Tr—troll…in the dungeon." He swayed. "Thought you aught to know." Then he fainted dead away, loud enough that the crack of his skull on the floor echoed around the room.

"Oh, that had to hurt. Stone is not friendly to pass out on," Harry said. The students had stayed quiet longer than he expected them to. Dumbledore had lifted his wand in preparation to cast a _quietus_ on the room. "Hey Dad, can I go check it out? I haven't seen a troll in ages!"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow but he wasn't saying no, which was what Dumbledore expected from him. A look at the gentleman in the overalls.

"Only if you take Jack with you."

Harry sighed, put out, then smiled and bounced on his feet. "Awesome! Come on uncle Jack!"

"Oi, you two, no technology! You remember Diagon57!" Harry flushed suddenly, then nodded. They dashed out the still open doors before the staff could say anything.

"Was that really smart Doctor, sending those two? You know what kind of damage they do." The blonde haired woman said, turned to look at the Doctor. The Doctor sighed, looking up and around, then froze as he saw all eyes on them.

"Oh, Rose, People."

Rose sighed and shook her head.

Minerva wondered what had just happened.

Dumbledore smiled jovially. "Doctor, welcome to Hogwarts!"

~~ An Ending ~~

This is a story I've been working on for a while. Putting up here to test the waters, see what people's reactions are. Thanks for reading! Reviews are like love notes that I hide in my fanfic folder.

-Kuroi


	2. In Which the Tardis does a Strange Thing

GUYS! THANK YOU SO MUCH! For reading and reviewing and favoriting and putting this on alerts! Every time I got an email from one of you telling me you read it and reviewed or alerted or favorited I floated around my house with a silly grin on my face. At the end will be more personal thank yous to those who either reviewed anonymously or had their PM's turned off. Thank you guys!

Here is the next chapter. It doesn't pick up from where the first one left off but rather from the Doctor's point of view right after he gets Harry. It's a bit of an introduction into how some of the relationships will be structured and also a grounding point. I want to let you all see some of Harry's adventures as he grows up so it will be a while before Harry ends up in Hogwarts.

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~Here is the Beginning~~~~~~~~~

The irritation and anger The Doctor felt welling up in him towards the headmaster lasted all the way down the moving staircase from Dumbledore's office and an extra three flights of stairs. It had been a long time since someone had managed to manipulate him so thoroughly. And Dumbledore had done it almost unknowingly on his part. He still believed the Doctor was a powerful wizard of some sort, hiding out on Earth and in possession of limitless power. Well, in that frame of mind, the Doctor could see how his words were chosen. That didn't make him any less irritated at the man.

However, when he realized he was suddenly going up stairs instead of down, the ire was lost and the laughing child on his hip drew his attention back as well. He refocused on the boy. The light in the bright emerald eyes and the smile was enough to let the anger fade slowly. His temper, already running hot and cold, fell flat on its face as he stared at the toddler. One couldn't fault the young for the elders choices. Besides, trying to find your way out of a maze while blindly rushing past everything around you was a very good way to get extremely lost. So he twirled the anger into a small ball, swirling up and around and ready to be tucked into a corner of his mind for when something other than arrogant humans deciding to play puppet master appeared. It would be more fruitful.

Harry giggled at his side, hands clutching the Doctor's jacket. "Well, aren't you just a bundle of joy?" He lifted Harry up in front of him, holding him out as if for inspection. Little feet in footie pajamas kicked the air and Harry squealed with laughter. "Alright, let us find our way back to the TARDIS. We most certainly are not sticking around here. Up you go." He swung the child up and around, over his shoulders till he could grab the tiny feet on either side of his neck. Harry's hands gripped pieces of his hair, tight but not tight enough to make the Doctor wince badly. He smiled, loving the bright laughter coming from Harry. Happiness was such an anathema to anger.

Now that he wasn't as blind to his surroundings, he looked around, hands holding tiny feet. The staircase he was sure was heading down previously was now going up. What a wonderful use of psionic energy. None of the other races he encountered that could manipulate psionic energy ever did anything as wonderful as these humans.

"This is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I can barely recognize the original energy signature, it's been so thoroughly manipulated. You lot are so wonderfully magnificent, do you know that?" He bounced the child on his shoulder, loving the joyful squeal he got in return. "All this energy makes it impossible for me to find my TARDIS, too much interference. Come on, let's go. We can ask one of the paintings." He climbed up with steps on spindly legs. "Another of you lots brilliant creations. Animated portraits without technology. Just a dabble of energy. Two signatures, if I must say so." He peered at a picture of a castle among meadows and shrubbery. "The subjects signatures, and the painters. Wonderful bit of magic there. Oh, hello!"

A knight dressed in full armor holding a sword bounced out of the shrubbery, waving his weapon at the admirer. "You there, foul sir, have you come to challenge the great Sir Cadogan?" He bounced from foot to foot, brandishing his sword and scowling heavily. "I must warn thee, I am a fair hand at the sword!" The Doctor smiled, delighted. A knight! What brilliance!

"Ah, Good Sir Cadogan! It has been a fair while since I met a knight! Lancelot was always too busy staring at Arthur to get anything done properly, and Tristen couldn't take four steps without bemoaning his fair Isoult. Too much romancing for my taste." The Doctor tilted his head up, recalling his traveling days with the knights. "Ah, but Arthur was one for the legends. Always rushing in brandishing sword and smile. Not too bright, but brave." Sir Cadogan was staring at this stranger who knew the knights of old. He lowered his sword and instead affected a salute.

"Good sir who knows of knights, Sir Cadogan is at your service." He bowed. The Doctor smiled. AH, yes he loved knights. Too much bravery and brawn, not enough brains between the nearest pair but always polite.

"Well then, good knight, I am looking for my steed. She is an odd one, a large blue box rather than a horse, but she is my own. If you can but help me find her, I shall be most grateful. I believe I left her near a painting of a bowl of fruit. Sir knight, can you help this lost and lowly one?" He would have bowed lower if Harry hadn't been on his shoulders. As it were, the giggle of the boy drew the attention of the knight to the child.

"Brave master, Sir Cadogan will be most honored to lead the tall master and his childe to the blue box. And I know exactly where you left your steed, for the fruit bowl guards the most wondrous place. Follow me good sir!" And with that, Sir Cadogan darted out of his painting and into the neighboring one, pushing the rather large lady in blue silks out of the way to rush onwards. The lady hmphed in irritation. The Doctor smiled grandly.

"Isn't this exciting! I love running!" He kept in mind that he could only keep it at a mild trot otherwise the child on his shoulders wouldn't be there long. "Sir Cadogan! If you might not hold steady a while, I must confess I am unable to keep up." Sir Cadogan, three paintings ahead and yelling encouragement, stopped.

"Ah, yes, the lad. I profess forgetting the childe, to my chagrin. I shall hold a while, so that you may catch up!" He grinned at this last bit of speech, proud for having picked up some slang. The Doctor grinned manically.

The knight led them down numerous corridors and countless stair cases until they were walking past a large set of doors, doors the Doctor was sure wouldn't open without the aid of magic. Once more, he found the imagination of humans limitless.

"My good sir, I am compelled to warn you, a man with a most unsettling brow is approaching from the pathways we must take to return you to your blue box. He is a cruel and capricious fellow, Sir." The knight wasn't looking so splendid anymore, having returned from a few paintings up with a frown on his face, and the Doctor tilted an eyebrow.

"I shall speak to him, good knight, then we may continue our quest." This seemed to stem some of the anxious temper of the knight.

"Good sir, if we were not so insistent on our quest, I would have spoken to him myself, challenged him to a duel. But my words always ring foul in his ears. I hope your words shall ease his foul temper better than mine." The Doctor nodded, smiling.

"I shall do my best, good Sir Cadogan." As he finished speaking, the man the knight spoke of rounded the corner and the Doctor was put into mind of a giant bat.

The man had sallow skin, a young face that was aged well beyond his years by wrinkles, worry lines, tired eyes and little sleep. The sheen lingering on his skin and hair wasn't helping the healthy glow either. The Doctor, eyes taking in as much information as possible, smiled brightly.

"Hello there! Fine day, is it not?" The startled look he received in turn was amusing. Then it turned into a hostile glare, and the Doctor felt the need to raise his hands in a supplicating gesture. If Harry wasn't on his shoulders, he would have. As it were, the Doctor took a few more steps towards the black-robed man. The man looked wary.

"Who are you? And why do you have that irritant's spawn on your shoulders?" Well then, foul temper indeed. Sir Cadogan was right.

The Doctor looked up towards Harry, who gripped his hair tighter. "Oh, this little one? Albus Dumbledore asked me to raise him. Gave to me free of charge. Bright little tyke, this one. Always smiling and laughing. Great for the heart, really." He tickled one of the feet in his hands. Laughter filled the air. The other man glared harder. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm the Doctor." He shifted his hands around so he could hold one out to shake. The other raised an eyebrow at him.

"Severus Snape." Snape didn't offer his hand, but that didn't deter the Doctor.

"I love what you lot have done here, really. Manipulating the psionic energy to backtrack itself and quantify the random pattern movement of the staircases is positively brilliant. And to allow the genetic encoding of paintings without using technology, then allowing the subjects of the painting to move by filtering the encoding through the medium until you've practically created a new life form by charging the particles with enough energy to move a lift is absolutely fantastic. Really and truly amazing." Snape looked rather like he had been run over by Santa Claus and his twelve giggling chipmunks by the time the Doctor was done speaking.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor. Didn't I say that already?"

"Doctor of what? Doctor is a muggle term, but you are obviously not a muggle. Who are you?"

The Doctor canted an eyebrow. "Just the Doctor. Oh, wow, that layer of bio-gaseous residue on your skin is rather interesting. A mix of hallucinogenic and biological materials heated and spewed into the air as a gas and settling on the closest dead cells. Most chemists have that look about them. Usually takes a while to build up to that level of shiny." The Doctor took out the sonic screwdriver, still grasping Harry's feet tightly, and clicked it on, pointing the blue end towards Snape. "Oh, and looky there. Nasty piece of work on your left arm, that. Who did that to you?" Snape reflexively clutched his left forearm, sneering at the Doctor.

"Please don't tell me you haven't heard of the Dark Lord? His fall a week ago is the news of the century." He paused. "And he's gone, so how do you know of this mark?"

The Doctor blinked, then his eyes widened. "Oh, you mean that Voldemort fellow. Yeah, Dumbledore just told me about him. Quite a character that one. Seems like he keyed whatever it is on your arm into his own genetic code and interfaced it with your nerves, tying it into your own core. Brilliant piece of work, twisted, really, but brilliant." Harry kicked at his shoulders. "Oh, well, I've gotta run. See you again, Severus Snape. Bye." And with that, the Doctor left behind a stunned and confused Snape.

Sir Cadogan saluted the Doctor, smiling brightly, and continued onward, leading the Doctor into warmly lit tunnels and corridors. The Doctor laughed, holding Harry tightly and listening to the giggles of joy. He could get used to this.

As they rounded the corner, the blue police box that the Doctor called home sat beside the fruit bowl portrait.

"AH, there you are! My good sir knight, I offer my sincere thanks for your help." He bowed slightly, towards the knight blushing in his armor.

"It was nothing, good lord. Always willing to help those who know of the valiant knights." The knight bowed. "Beyond that portrait, tall lord, is the kitchens, if the youngling is in need of food. All one must do is tickle the pear for a door knob. Now, I must return to my castle before that wanton woman next to me moves in. She knows how much I despise her yet she still tries her womanly wiles on me." Sir Cadogen left the Doctor with a salute and ran back through the portraits, leaving the two in the hallway with the TARDIS.

The mention of food reminded the Doctor that he was going to have to find that kitchen he had lost because Harry was going to eat quite a bit more often than he was used to, and chips weren't acceptable foods for a baby. He pulled Harry off his shoulders and settled him on his hip, unlocking the TARDIS doors and stepping inside.

As soon as the doors shut behind them, the TARDIS blinked happily, a purring sound filling the large space. Harry giggled, clutching the Doctor's coat tightly and kicking feet. This action was repeated by the TARDIS in her own way, and she rattled happily. The Doctor freaked out rather spectacularly and rushed to the console.

"What are you doing? I didn't press anything. What's going on old girl?" The TARDIS burbled and the center column moved, gears gyrating. Harry's laughter and the TARDIS's twinkling tune filled the air and the Doctor's panic attack was reaching epic proportions just as the movement stopped and the TARDIS settled down. Harry's laughter decreased until he was just smiling happily. The Doctor was holding onto him with one hand and typing madly away with the other at the video screen.

It was made plainly obvious that they weren't in Hogwarts anymore when an image of an enormous forest filled the view screen. The Doctor tapped at it furiously.

Harry giggled at his side. The Doctor sighed dramatically, then threw his hands metaphorically in the air. "Alright then, let's see where we are." The minute the Doctor opened the door, the humid, hot air of the jungle outside. The Doctor looked around, blinking. "AH, I see! The Forests of Hadroona. Way back in your past, little one. About, oh, a thousand years before you were around, yeah? One of the most beautiful places in the galaxy, full of life and teeming with energy…." He trailed off at this word, looking between Harry and the TARDIS. "Oh, no, you didn't. You activated my TARDIS. She found the closest source of psionic energy matching yours and sent us there and you let her! Sneaky bugger." He tickled Harry, who laughed even louder.

"Ah well, might as well go explore then, since we're here. It's been a good while since I came to the Forests. Beautiful place, really. Compliments on the choice of location. Only ten thousand light years away from Earth, this planet. In your time, the forests are all gone. Wiped out rather mysteriously. Never knew what happened to them. They just vanished, the whole planet turned into a barren wasteland. Millions of years of evolution, preservation by the council, and it's all gone in a night. I've always wondered what happened to it."

The Doctor babbled on to the child on his hip, who was looking around with wide eyes. He found it comforting to speak to someone about this, someone who wouldn't question it or look at him as if he were nuts, though he did enjoy those looks. He was just showing the wonder of a beautiful world to a being who would appreciate it. The boy's laughter was overwhelming.

As were the small, colorful lights that appeared around Harry's hands, dancing over his skin and casting an ethereal light on the child's face. Little spheres of energy shining and swirling around the toddlers form. The Doctor hadn't seen them in ages, and he daren't disturb their play. They were shy things, coming out only when attracted by a source of energy to play.

The little lights, children of the Guardians and protectors of the Forest, accompanied them through the trees. Large, gorgeous, amazing trees, that reached for the sky with branches and leaves of silver and green and gold and yellow. A rainbow of natural colors that altered the light until it danced on the ground.

The little lights led them through a gap in the trees and through to a clearing. The Doctor was content to watch Harry play with his newfound friends, hands clapping and waving and twirling through the air with the children. When his feet his stone, he stopped and sat cross-wise, setting Harry in front of him.

The glade he was in spread out around him in a perfect circle, forty meters in diameter and surrounded by forty trees at equal lengths from each other. He had walked right into a sacred circle without even realizing it. The tree's trunks were a deep, beautiful brown and gold, with shimmering emerald leaves. The drapery of leaves and moss fell around in a lattice pattern. He sat on a platform of pure white stone ringed in black soil, small silver flowers peering out from under roots and stone. He was truly in a powerful place of the Forests. It was a wonder he hadn't been confronted before by those that guarded this place.

Little Harry must be powerful indeed, he thought, if they had come to the center of the glade unaccosted. The little spheres squeaked happily, and The Doctor felt the change in the atmosphere before he saw the light shift as the guardians approached.

There were two of them, brilliantly colorful beings. They were tall, slender creatures with butterfly-esque wings that shimmered in jewel tones. Their bodies were semi-transparent and black, moonstone eyes, all four they possessed, peering at the strangers sitting in the stone circle. Their wings glowed emerald and sapphire colors, beautiful calming tones that filled the glade with radiance unmatched. They approached slowly, each step taken with measured deliberation, one set of hands crossed over their chest, the other set clasped in front of them. Their wings were outstretched, eight meters wide.

The Doctor would have stood to great them, bow before their elegance and purity, if his hands weren't full keeping Harry upright and laughing brightly. He did incline his head, feeling the peaceful energy they radiated. When they drew to a stop mere feet from his position, they also incline their heads.

"Time Lord," they spoke, their voices blending together as once. "and young Magician. We are overjoyed to see you. Our children have found a wonderful playmate." They turned their heads to Harry. "He is powerful, Time Lord. You could not have entered otherwise. His energy thrums with the beat of ours."

Harry giggled and twirled his hands around, swirling bits of gold and silver following his fingers paths. "Yes. He was recently given to me to care for, Great Guardians. He is of human descent."

Lipless mouths smiled. "You know that to be untrue, Time Lord. He may be human, but his ancestry is much more so. He is a catalyst of time in ways that those who travel time cannot be. He will be invaluable. Our eyes can see this."

The Doctor blinked. "I was unaware that the Guardians were far-seerers. You can see his time line?"

They shook their heads. The one on the right spoke, voice sweet and melodic. "No, we cannot See the future, Time Lord. That gift is not given to us. But the energy that twines around his body is strong, and even you can see his life energy, the strength of it." She paused, looking at the Guardian to her right. They exchanged a silent conversation, then she turned back to the Doctor. "Time Lord, if it is alright with you, may I hold your young charge? His energy is so bright. It has been many years since I have witnessed such as he."

The request startled the Doctor, who blinkingly turned to Harry. The small light spheres had all left, now fluttering around the two tall Guardians. Harry was looking at them with wide eyes and wonder on his face. The Doctor lifted Harry up and rose to his feet, before lifting Harry out towards the Guardian on the right. She reached out her upper set of arms, taking the boy and bringing him close to her chest. Harry reached out a hand, trying to touch the fingers now circling his face. He grasped one of them and bright it close to him, better to look it over.

"Our young are not quite so inquisitive as human children are. And he reaches with his energy as well, feeling me. It is unusual for one so young to unconsciously do so." The Guardian smiled and twirled her fingers around in the air, creating golden paths that Harry reached out to touch. They dissolved into mist and Harry giggled.

"The young Magician is strange, Time Lord, almost as impossible as you are. Your existence is one that changes the very vortex of time, the last of your race, without constraints. Little Harry here holds an impossible potential within his body, and as he grows, so will his strength." The other Guardian looked at the Time Lord, eyes sharp and bright. "Time Lord, I hope you know what you are doing, taking this child out of his time and into a timeless environment. His power will be changed just by your presence."

The Doctor smiled, though it was hollow. "I know. I just need…he is something I can believe in for a while, at least, something tangible in a way that possibilities and may-haps are not. At least, not anymore. So I will raise him, and as I am the last Time Lord, I don't have to answer to a council. And I won't raise him a weapon for humanity. He deserves better than that."

The three stood in silence in the glades, Harry laughing within the Guardian's arms, until she finally handed Harry back to the Doctor.

"Here, for this will be the last time we meet, Time Lord. This gift, for Harry, is to be given to him when he is able to consciously control his power. It will help him harness the strength and will prevent destruction due to miss-used power." She unfolded her hands and held all four out towards the two humanoids. She closed her eyes and began to trace shapes and patterns in the air, the shimmering gold solidifying into a twisting, elegantly woven string of shimmering power. The folds and curves framed a circling pattern with a wonderful style, and the Doctor, taking it from her outstretched hand, could only blink.

"This…this is brilliant. The energy conduits, the back feed loops and encoding circuits, this is beautiful." He paused in his admiration. "You want me to take it, to give to Harry? Why? This is a gift of unparalleled magnitude for a child."

"Yes, but it is not often that a child with such power is able to enter out glade, nor one who entertains our children so. One who has such energy will need help when he discovers it, and it could overwhelm his spirit completely. He will need such a gift, to prevent him from losing his identity. We are near the ending of our life here, and now is the last time we shall see you."

This last sentence struck the Doctor, and he shook his head furiously. "Oh, right. The Forests vanish. Why is that?" The Guardian gestures toward the sky, and the Doctor tilts his head upwards.

A large, violently blue beam of light filled the sky.

"Ah, discharge from a hypernova explosion. Julio 56-795, if I'm right. Gamma ray burst, heading straight for the planet. Largest explosion in a couple centuries, if I have my date right. Why it hits the atmosphere, in approximately three hours, it will fuse with the atoms and superheat them, burning the air and the…." The Doctor trailed off, his thought process catching up with his babbling. "Oh, right. Not good. At all. Is there any way to stop it…no, you can't. Not a hypernova. To strong, too much energy. Just destroys planets in its path." He looks at the Guardians. "I am sorry. So sorry."

They shake their heads. "It is all right, Time Lord. The inevitable march of that which you avoid passes for us all, and this is our end. The council left us a year ago, when the final remnants of the Galactic Battle required a government to step in. They have no knowledge of this, and they will not remember the explosion of Eria with the end of the Forests. But thank you Time Lord, for bringing little Harry here. His energy gives us strength to face the oncoming end with peace." They raised their hands towards the sky. "Go, Time Lord. You do not belong here as this world ends. You will see the rise of the next one, and the one after that."

The Doctor hesitated once, before leaving the glade with the Guardian's gift held tightly in his hand, Harry on his hip, silent and blinking away the sadness that comes with watching the end of such a beautiful race. But there was nothing he could do. Nature was not something that could be subverted just because one wanted it to change, he had learned that. Some things had to happen, for life to move forward. The Forests of Hadroona would be replaced by lush, gorgeous, protected wildlife in scant millennia's time. This had to happen. And he had to leave.

He rushed into the TARDIS and shut the door, sagging heavily against it. "I am sorry, little one, that the first friends you meet must also meet their end. But we can't be here. Not now." He rushed to the center console. "Hold on tight, Harry, It's gonna be bumpy." He flipped knobs, switches and levers, spun dials and, as the TARDIS started the shake, held on tightly to Harry and the railing. It wouldn't do to go knocking about with a child in his arms.

Off into Parenthood he went. It had been a while since he had been in that position. Many, many years. But Harry, with his smiles and laughter, just might be what he needed. And Harry most certainly needed someone as well.

~~~~~~~Here is the Ending~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading! I know it isn't as long as the first chapter but it also acts as a launch pad for the story. Harry, with the Doctor, in the TARDIS. I have a thought about doing a side story with the Guardians, cause they fascinate me as a race. I dunno though. Thoughts?

Those reviewers who I couldn't respond to personally:

Melian Maia: Thank you! I worked hard on the beginning so I'm glad you enjoyed it! As you can see, there is more! Here you go!

comentator: Thanks! It is being continued as I type!

LRN415: Aw, Thanks so much! Your kind words are much appreciated! It is being continued now! Promise!

Yamatta: Thanks! Here you go! Hope it has in interesting direction for you!

And thank you to all of those I did reply to!

Please leave a review if you can! They make me happy and motivate me to write quicker. And since the next chapter is almost all the way done, that's a bonus for you!

Over and out - Kuroi


	3. In Which Harry does strange things

You guys are so amazing! The support, the alerts, the reviews, I love all of you! Thank you! Here's the next chapter and, as promised, Harry as a child and some of his time with the Doctor. I'll have personal thank yous for those I couldn't reach by private message at the end.

~~~~~Here is a beginning~~~~~~

Harry had been with the Doctor for a number of months now, or at least it seemed like months. Time was judged by how much Harry grew, and at the moment, he was looking somewhere around eighteen months or so. Human children grew fast for being so small. They also managed to find an inordinate amount of trouble for their size. Harry managed to discover the missing swimming pool (by falling into it. The Doctor, thankfully, was just behind him), a room with zero gravity (he enjoyed this one immensely, giggling as the Doctor tried to get him back down to the ground) and a playground. The Doctor kept this one in mind for when the boy was older and able to enjoy more of the equipment. As it was, he was still too small to do much on it other than fall.

The Doctor also kept to places with minimal levels of danger. Harry was just too little to be getting into trouble, and he couldn't very well leave him on the TARDIS. Especially since the first time Harry entered the ship, she took them to a planet hours away from being obliterated by a gamma ray burst.

He had also gotten unnaturally attached to the child, more so than he had assumed he would. The boy was easy to fall for, laughing, smiling, playing with baubles that appeared and disappeared. For a while, the Doctor wouldn't let Harry down on his own, not without joining him on the floor to play. The Tardis had also restored the kitchens and a bedroom he had never seen before, but it was stocked with clothes for a small child and a bed that would fit Harry rather well.

The old girl knew when he needed things, didn't she?

He had also gone through a number of jackets, having discovered Harry's love for throwing food around. Some of the foods, especially a few fruits from the Andromeda Galaxies, stained clothing completely. Those fruits, after the first encounter with them, he decided could wait until Harry was old enough to eat them without making a mess.

He remembered the day Harry spoke. He was old enough to speak when he was first given to the Doctor, choosing not to or still unused to the new surroundings to speak. But when he finally did, his first words sent the Doctor into a mild panic. It would have helped if they hadn't been directed at the Doctor.

"Daddy!" Harry had joyfully squealed, clapping and pointing at the Doctor. Wide eyes and a suitably shocked face accompanied this proclamation.

"No, no, Doctor. I'm the Doctor."

"Daddy!" And, after a few more fruitless attempts to get Harry to say Doctor instead of 'Daddy', the Doctor gave up. Children were wont to be stubborn, and Harry was more determined than most to have his way. Following this declaration of fatherhood, Harry began to babble incessantly. His word list included 'TARDIS', 'Brilliant', a gleeful 'Hold On!', various food names and some obscure planets he had picked up, along with normal words. He was, thankfully, potty trained by the time the Doctor took him, so that was one hurdle he didn't have to jump.

Harry was also fond of walking and wandering around. He wasn't very stable on his legs at first, staying upright mostly but tipping over here and there (kept carefully confined to his room by the Doctor), but soon he was a mobile machine. The Doctor did the smart thing and attached an energy leash to the tyke, when he realized he couldn't lock Harry in his room to keep him safe. That wouldn't work out well for the boy.

He was rather thankful of this leash because not long after he rigged it up, Harry stepped out the TARDIS doors while she hung in space, giggling and shouting "Whee!" He was alerted by the TARDIS when a loud alarm rang through the hull, and when he ran out to see the lad dangling over the edge, he felt both hearts leap for space in his throat.

His perfectly rational response was the flip out. Loudly and violently.

Harry was pulled back into the TARDIS, much to his disappointment cause 'the staws are pwetty Daddy!' argument went over so well with the Time Lord who was currently trying to calm the racing of his two hearts. Harry was hugged to the point of wriggling, then he looked at The Doctor closely.

"Please please don't do that again, okay Harry?" Harry's large green eyes were as solemn as a small child's could get.

"Daddy sad?"

"Daddy scared," the Doctor clarified. Harry looked confused, but nodded.

"Sowwy Daddy." Harry put a tiny hand on the Doctor's cheek. The Doctor smiled.

"It's okay Harry, You just scared me." After that, Harry tended to stick close to the Doctor, nearly attached to his pant legs; it reduced the need for the leash drastically, and Harry began to curl up with the Doctor whenever he sat down, often times falling asleep. The Doctor took those times that Harry decided to use him as a pillow and a bed to start teaching him the names of stars and planets, telling him of the peoples of those planets and places, the times they come from, what they do.

Harry especially loved stories about those who could use energy to change the world, sometimes trying to imitate legends of old with his hands. Most of the time he achieved sparkles and colors, which delighted him none the less.

Another side effect of these stories was Harry's unfortunate habit of repeating the names of obscure stars and planets to people he met whenever the Doctor took him out for supplies. The TARDIS couldn't provide everything they needed and eventually they ran out of basic necessities, such as milk or apples, a favorite snack food of Harry's as long as they were cut into small bites.

Harry's habit of naming stars in a sing-song voice tended to garner strange looks from passers-by, as if wondering if there was something off about him. The Doctor didn't notice these looks, mostly because he was used to receiving them all the time, and absently corrected Harry's pronunciation or even added in a star or two. Harry was too young to notice them and instead would sing parts of his song to anyone who would listen, or stay still long enough to let him tell them. It became Harry's favorite game, seeing how many he could remember. It was also something the Doctor enjoyed teaching him immensely. They boy had a prodigious memory.

Harry's magic (the Doctor, after having spent quite a while debating with himself (literally. He found a hologram he could argue with) decided that calling it magic would cut about five words from every sentence he used) had caused some problems in the beginning. Especially the accidental magic. When Harry was upset (which happened less frequently than the Doctor could have ever hoped for) Harry's magic would, undoubtedly, act up. The first time, he turned the Doctor's hair orange, an act that immediately cheered him up and gave the Doctor pause for thought. The Doctor was stuck with vibrant orange hair for about three days (give or take a week. Time wasn't all too specific in the TARDIS). It was the closest to being ginger he had ever been, and he reveled in it. He was slightly less impressed with the striped look he adopted after Harry hit his head on a stair case. Actually, the whole TARDIS was striped blue and green for a while. Once, they even had talking sparkles, but they only lasted long enough to twinkle brightly and introduce themselves before Harry passed out and they popped.

Soon though, the mood-induced accidental magic that usually manifested and altering colors and animating odd things turned into colorful balls and blocks that Harry summoned to play with, and those soon changed to small galaxies Harry created as he learned more and more about stars and planets (granted his solar systems tended to look amusingly like ten miniature suns with twenty planets all rotating in different directions, but they kept Harry amused. A chore the Doctor learned wasn't as easy as it seemed.)

He hadn't had children around in well over a few centuries, not young children anyway. His companions over the years were all old enough to talk fluently and take care of themselves, and to have another being that he was required to look after actually helped him, gave him a purpose rather than just surfing the stars and finding as much trouble as possible, however often as possible, just to be able to feel alive. Trying to juggle a crying Harry and a finicky TARDIS kept him on his toes often enough.

From what he knew of small human children (his knowledge in that area was rather limited, as it wasn't a subject taught at the Academy and he hadn't been around much when his children were young, and that was a long time ago. Besides, they were children of Gallifrey, not human), they were usually not supposed to learn this fast, or remember as much and Harry did. For just being under the two year mark, Harry was remarkably talkative and had a rather brilliant memory. That could have been altered by his proximity to the Time Vortex at such a young age, but that couldn't be all. His own mental make-up must be rather extraordinary to remember the names of stars and planets as well as he did. It made for fun and interesting times in the TARDIS. It also meant that when Harry was upset, he expressed it far more verbally than a child as young as him should. It made for interesting tantrums.

"Daddy! I wanna see Siwius and Betajuice! Pwease pwease! Daddy!" At which point the Doctor would have to explain to his child that they had just seen them. This fact didn't seem to matter to the screaming toddler. Actually, most logical arguments didn't matter to Harry, who usually screamed it out in his room, then curled up in sniffles next to the Doctor, saying 'Sowwy' and asking for another story about the stars.

Eventually the companionship he longed for when he picked up those humans and aliens he took with him faded as Harry squirmed his way into his life. Harry was his reason to live, with his bright happy smiles and echoing laughter. Harry, tottering around with beakers full of non-toxic science experiments where one liquid changed another into a different color or billowed out smoke or made noises. Harry, who dragged his toys from his room or the play room or the lab or wherever he managed to stash them into the console room because "that's where Daddy is!". Instead of showing companions a whole new world he raised this child, this bundle of life an energy and enthusiasm in a never ending Universe.

Harry didn't quite understand the concept of time. Minutes, hours, days, years, they didn't mean much to him. Where most two and three year olds knew the concept of days and hours, Harry could care less. There was eating time, sleeping time, playing time, adventure time, don't disturb daddy while he's working on this very very sensitive time rotor and he doesn't want Harry to get hurt time, learning time. Time was defined by what Harry did instead of a measurement created by sentient species.

The Doctor carefully steered away from any life changing events in the Universe. No wars or battles or planets with civil disputes. He couldn't leave Harry in the TARDIS indefinitely if he had to go running off to save the world again and again. He was careful about which planets they visited, which star systems they traveled to, what dates they hit. The TARDIS was also helpful. Instead of dropping the Doctor off at turning points, she kept him out of the major events. He lay low.

He did manage to run into Queen Elizabeth, who was a remarkably bright young woman. Shockingly there were also no life-changing events happening either.

Harry was two, almost exactly two when the TARDIS landed with a soft whump and the Doctor gleefully picked Harry up off the chair and spun towards the door, snagging his jacket on the way out. Harry's tiny feet, clad in sleek, light Air Streamers from 2457, kicked out and he laughed.

"Where are we?"

"Let's find out, shall we?"

The Doctor swung the door open dramatically, all about the flair, only to be confronted with the business end of an arrow. He swallowed and angled Harry behind him.

"Who are you?" The Doctor blinked. It was a female voice, imperious and commanding and definitely not from the bloke standing in front of him.

"Um…I'm the Doctor. Can you ask your man to stand down? I really don't want Harry to get hurt." Harry peered curiously over his shoulder, eyes wide.

"Daddy, what's that?" he asked, pointing towards the weapon aimed at them. The Doctor looked down at him.

"It's called a bow. The pointy bit aimed at me is the arrow, which is used as a weapon. The archer, the man holding the bow, pulls the string back, keeping the line tight and giving the arrow a lot of power, so when he lets the line go the arrow flies through the air." He glanced back up at the archer. "An arrow I would really like not pointed at me, please." The Doctor was still angled so Harry was on his far side.

The archer had hesitated at seeing Harry peer at him with curiosity in his eyes. He wasn't prepared or willing to shoot a child. The female voice, hovering behind the archer, spoke again. "Lower your weapon. I would like to meet this doctor and his child."

The archer gratefully lowered his bow, eyeing the Doctor with suspicion but smiling at Harry. The Doctor finally saw the woman who had been speaking and he blinked before smiling widely.

"Harry, I would like you to meet Queen Elizabeth the First of the Great Empire of Britain, daughter of Henry the VIII and one of the greatest rulers in history!" Harry stared at her with wide green eyes.

"Pretty clothes," Harry finally said. The queen raised an eyebrow.

"You are a most impertinent child."

Harry frowned. "Imp…imp…imper…" He looked up at the Doctor.

"Impertinent," the Doctor said slowly, emphasizing the syllables. "It means you say what you think even if it isn't appropriate."

Harry nodded. "Impertinent. I like that word. Impertinent." He slurred it slightly but it was still understandable. Queen Elizabeth watched with fascination.

"Who are you, sir Doctor? And how did you get into the throne room?"

The doctor looked around. "Oh is that where we are? I wasn't sure. It was a mistake, honest. Didn't mean to. I was aiming for the gardens but the Tardis rarely actually listens to what I want to do. It's quite frustrating in all honesty." The Doctor smiled again.

The queen tilted her head at a funny angle, unsure of what to make of this Doctor with his weird words and odd child and strange box. He had an English accent, but there was something in his voice that didn't sound right, a note or a tone that was off. "What are you doing here, in the palace? And how did you get here?"

"Well, we aren't really…oh, what's the word. We must have snuck in. Yes. We must have. Only explanation right?"

The Queen raised a well manicured eyebrow. "Then what is stopping me from throwing you in the dungeons and taking your child from you?"

"I'm sure we can come to some kind of agreement your Majesty. It was an honest mistake."

"How can sneaking into Buckingham Palace be a mistake, Doctor….what is your name sir?"

"Just the Doctor. Honest."

"That is not a name. That is a title that must be earned to be worn fairly." He looked at him. "Did you earn yours or are you misusing it as well?"

The Doctor looked pensive. "Well, depends on your definition of doctor really. Crap at surgery but brilliant at medicines and all around good in sciences, I think. I did get my degree though. University of Mars, class of Zero star Apple 789." He grinned.

Queen Elizabeth looked taken aback. "You are quite mad, sir."

"Oh yes, that's me. Mad as a hatter!" He grinned.

"Are you fit to raise your child then, mad man?"

The Doctor looked amused. "He's mine, so that is none of your concern."

"Sir Doctor, if you and your child would come with me, I would like to talk to you in a more private location." She nodded towards the end of the throne room. "This way." It might have been phrased as a request but it was anything but. The Doctor did so with relish, gleefully pointing out things to Harry in a soft whisper as the Queen's guard trailed alongside them.

"We must have landed in the throne room Harry! Right in the middle of it! I wonder if we'll get to see the state rooms. I hope not the dungeons. That would be distinctly unpleasant, wouldn't you say so Harry?"

"Is the queen mad?" Harry asked softly. The Doctor grinned.

"Nah, not mad. Confused and curious, maybe, but I don't think she's mad."

"Oh, okay." Harry yawned at his side. "Tired Daddy. Gonna sleep now. Night night." Harry rested his head on the Doctor's shoulder, eyes falling shut. The Doctor shifted him around so he was holding him in front of his body, head slipping into the crook of his arm and chest. Harry sighed and snuggled into it, sticking his thumb into his mouth.

The Doctor made a face, then resettled Harry crosswise his chest before speaking. "Alright Harry. Night night. I'll wake you up when something interesting happens."

It wasn't five minutes later and Harry was snoring softly against the Doctor's chest. Only a child raised in the Tardis could fall asleep in the middle of being escorted by the queen and her armed guards, thought the Doctor. Well, he was sure infants could and any sleepy child would as well, he shouldn't go around making these grand assumptions. He assumed it was part of parenting that made you believe your child was the most special one in the world.

He thought that was fine. Harry most definitely was, in his eyes, and that was all that mattered to him.

The queen led them to a comfortable but by no means small sitting room and gestured for the Doctor to take the opposite seat. She glanced at Harry.

"The child is young, I take it."

"He's two, two ish. More or less. Around the two age range."

The queen blinked. "You are a very strange man Doctor." The Doctor grinned. "I am curious. You bring a blue box into the throne room without any of my guards noticing and walk out with a child. What sort of man are you?"

The Doctor settled back into the chair, moving Harry gently till the tyke was curled up across his lap, thump in his mouth. The Doctor rested a hand on Harry's back, feeling the breath whoosh in and out. He looked up at the queen, who was watching them with sharp eyes.

"He is a very beautiful child," she said. "Unusual coloring to be found here. His eyes are very green." The Doctor quirked a lip at her, understanding the query.

"We aren't from around here, no," he confirmed. The queen nodded thoughtfully.

"Your accent says London but there is something else there. Something in your tone. I can't place it."

"I would be surprised if you could, Your Majesty. Very few in the Universe can." He smiled gamely at her and she frowned.

"What were you doing in my throne room Doctor? And how did you get there in the first place? You could not have come here by accident, this is one of the most fiercely guarded places in England." She tilted her head, considering him. "And how did that blue box get in there?"

"Well, Elizabeth the first, I did know your father. Brutal man, he was. Still, he did love a good pint." He tilted his head and really looked at the queen. "You were a tiny thing. Your mum let you have strawberries one night. Your face was all red." He smiled. "You liked my sonic screwdriver. Kept playing with the buttons." He glanced down at Harry. "Not too different from little Harry here."

Elizabeth frowned at him. "That is not possible. You…you are not very old sir Doctor. Not much older than myself, if I must guess. What sort of games are you playing? I do not appreciate being played." Her hands fisted in her dress. Her face was beginning to pale and flush at different points. She had inherited some of her father's flame, the Doctor noted, but she controlled it much much better than him.

"I don't always look the same Elizabeth. Actually, this is the first time I've been here with this face." He looked speculative. "Been here a few times actually. Might be here more. Who knows." He smiled.

"You are an odd man. There has been a Doctor here, long ago. My father threw him into the Tower for insubordination but he vanished." She frowned. "But that was long ago and that man was very very old."

"First face, I'm afraid. I was young, impulsive. And your father had my Tardis locked up in there. Best way to get to her."

They stared at each other for a few moments. Elizabeth the queen scrutinized the no-name Doctor with his child and his strange voice and his rambling sentences and his odd manners. The sleeping child in his lap, completely unconcerned with the world at large and napping with his thumb in his mouth struck her as odd. In her presence parents would keep their children behaving to the best of their ability. Alert, genial, smiling. This Doctor had let his son fall asleep on his lap with no care of who she was. It threw her for a loop and she was trying to regain her footing.

"This Tardis…that is the name of that blue box you brought into the throne room, is it not?"

The Doctor looked pleased. "Yes, yes it is. I knew you got the brains in your family."

"What exactly is that box, that Tardis? It looks like a small container and it says it belongs to a Police. Did you steal it from this Police?"

The Doctor smiled in amusement. "Not really. Though I did steal it. Borrowed, more like. Doesn't matter, long in the past. Just stopped by to show Harry 16th century England. He likes castles and kings and queens. Fascinated by royalty. When he wakes up he'll probably pester you with questions and ask if he can sit on your throne and wear the crown or what not." He smiled fondly down at the child.

Elizabeth looked slightly shocked. "But…he is so young. He is barely old enough to talk and walk, much less hold intelligent conversation." Ah, the age where children were to be seen and not heard. The Doctor had always forgotten how often children were overlooked by the adults of their time. Humans, always a contradiction. Ignore the child until they are old enough to take responsibility, chastise the adult for not knowing enough about their responsibility.

"Harry is rather different, I imagine, from most children you have met. I daresay he is quite like you were as a child. Did you know that I held a conversation with you in French when you were naught but four? I was very impressed. Women of the 16th century rarely receive so much attention to their education outside of those practices deemed acceptable. You were an astonishingly bright child."

Elizabeth frowned at this. She remembered a man talking with her when she was a child. He was funny, dressed in a strange suit with some sort of food item attached to it and he was always smiling. It was odd, but he talked to her like an adult and never thought she was in the way. It had been one of the best days of her young life, to be taken so seriously by an adult that wasn't a member of her household, especially after she had been stripped of her rank as heir to the throne.

"Sir Doctor, that was many years ago and a different man. He had a piece of food on his lapel. It was very striking, but you cannot be that man. You are not he." The Doctor smiled that amused smile that said he was indulging your fantasy but he was right and you would probably believe him too. It was a very odd smile, the queen thought. She thought over her impressions of the man from long ago. It was a hazy memory, somewhere in the garden of her home in Hatfield from a time that was chaotic and not always happy. Her French tutor, Jean Belmain, had let her out early to play and a strange man had been walking along the path with a young woman, chatting about something she couldn't recall.

He had stopped when he caught sight of her and spoke to her as if she were and adult. She had just come out of her French lessons so she had responded automatically in French. The man had smiled delightedly and talked quite enthusiastically to her in French for a while. She had even learned new words and he had shown her how to make a whistle out of a piece of grass and how to braid flowers into a necklace and had given her one and one to his companion, a girl whose name she couldn't remember. He had introduced himself as The Doctor. Just as this stranger had to her.

And he had struck her as odd even at a young age. He was a memory that, no matter how old she had grown, he never left. She had met him for a fleeting two hours but somehow he had refused to vanish from her memory, a stationary object in a sea of change. But, could this Doctor be that strange man from her childhood? And how? He was different, taller with spiky brown hair and brown eyes, with a blue suit and trousers and a long brown jacket. There was no food on his person.

"Doctor, I do not understand. If you are who you claim to be, how is that possible? You look different, I have aged twenty two years in the interim and you…you are different. It isn't possible by any stretch of the imagination. No human can do such things." She paused at her own words, looked at the Doctor consideringly. "Are you human?" she finally asked.

The Doctor hadn't said a word as the queen pondered over his impossibility. He knew she was smart, would reach the conclusion eventually, or come close enough to it that it wouldn't be hard to fill in the details. He watched her think everything over. She was a smart woman, she ran an empire for forty five years. So when she finally looked at him, eyes wide, and had asked if he was human, the smiled that stretched across his face was genuinely pleased.

"Knew you would get it. Right square on the nose. Amazing brain you have there. Astonishingly intelligent young woman you are. All you needed was some time and you come straight to the right conclusion." She looked at him, blinking.

"You haven't answered my question Doctor. You very carefully didn't answer my question. It's one of the most skillful misdirection's I've ever seen and I've sat in on the treasury council several times." She smiled at him politely and the Doctor shrugged, not overly concerned.

"Well, you are right. I'm not human, not even remotely close." He grinned at her. She looked down at Harry.

"And your child, Doctor? Is he human?"

The Doctor looked down at Harry, frowning slightly. "He's mostly human, I supposed. Though with Harry you never can tell. It's always a question of what you consider human, really. The moral? The genetic? The ethics? The unpredictability? Human is such an interesting term to apply. I've always found you lot fascinating. Always changing, challenging the universe, the view of what a sentient species can do, what they can achieve. The bounds of good and evi-"

"You're rambling, Doctor. Is this something you do often?" The Doctor blinked at the interruption. It wasn't often he was interrupted anymore, but it wasn't often he was around someone like Elizabeth the first either. Harry was usually keen on listening to him, as long as possible and often quite at length, asking questions and such as he went along.

"Well, occasionally. I mean, when there's something to talk about, I like to talk. And Harry here loves to listen. Great listener. Asks the best questions, really. Knows the names of at least the twelve top visited galaxies in the universe, the fifteen most popular planets for vacations and a couple dozen stars and…" the Doctor trailed off. "Sorry, rambling again." He smiled.

"You are a most odd man Doctor. I would very much like it if you stayed for a while. Your blue box, the Tardis, it is your transportation is it not?" The Doctor nodded. "Very unusual method of transportation. It must be very small inside for you and your child, Harry. We can provide rooms here for however long you wish to stay." She looked at him enquiringly. It sounded like an offer, but the Doctor could hear the demand underneath and though he could turn it down and the queen would probably let him go, it would be interesting to stick around for a little while. And Harry would love it. He always loved royalty and famous people and seeing shiny things, almost as much as he loved running and asking questions.

"Sure, why not. I could do with a bit of a rest and Harry would enjoy it. Not long, mind you, but it would be alright for a little while. I suppose." He gently shook Harry awake and waited for bleary green eyes to look at him.

"Daddy. Something fun happening?" he asked, words slurring with sleep and the edge of alertness. The Doctor smiled.

"Indeed. How do you feel about staying in a palace for a little while? With a queen and everything."

Harry sat bolt upright, eyes wide and mouth open. "Really? We get to stay? Can I sit on the big chair the queen sits on?"

The queen cleared her throat, staring at Harry. "Little one-"

"Harry. My name is Harry," he said firmly. The queen smiled.

"Harry then. Your father says you are intelligent. I have a tutor who would love to teach you things and if he says you do well I might let you sit on the throne. The big chair," she clarified. Harry's eyes went wide and he looked up at the Doctor.

"Can I daddy? Please?" The Doctor laughed.

"Of course. Anything. I'm sure it will be interesting, learning from this tutor." He leaned down to whisper in Harry's ear. "Just remember Harry, you can't tell him about the future."

Harry nodded, though the Doctor knew he would probably have to explain a few things away anyway. Harry loved to talk and tell anyone who would listen anything possible.

Harry turned back to the queen. "Okay! You promise if I do good I can sit on your chair, the throne?" Harry tried out his new word with confidence.

"If you do well, Harry, I promise."

"If I do well," Harry corrected himself. Elizabeth smiled.

"You do learn quickly. Roger will be pleased to have such an apt pupil, and one so young will be a pleasure for him. He does take fondly to bright minds." She smiled at Harry, who looked at her curiously.

"Is your name Queen?" he asked. Elizabeth laughed.

"No, that is my title. My name is Elizabeth, young Harry."

"Oh. Okay. Eliz..Eliza…Eliza"

"Elizabeth," she enunciated, wondering why she was teaching a small child her proper name rather than 'your majesty'. It must be the unconventional meeting, she supposed. It wasn't every day one met a visitor from another world and Harry's obvious enthusiasm to learn whatever he could was heartening. Harry frowned and tested the word quietly before saying, with confidence,

"Elizabeth. Elizabeth. I like your name. It sounds cool," he said. Elizabeth smiled and held out her hand, standing up. Harry glanced back at the Doctor, looking for approval, before wiggling from his father's lap and unsteadily landing on his feet. He walked over and took the young queen's hand, smiling delightedly. "You have nice hands, Elizabeth," he said. Elizabeth laughed delightedly.

"And you are an impertinent child, Harry."

"Impertinent. To say what you think even if you shouldn't. Is it okay for me to say you have nice hands?"

"Yes, yes, it's fine Harry. Do you want to meet Roger? He will love to meet you." Harry nodded, looking back at the Doctor who was watching him with a fond smile on his face, still sprawled in the large armchair he had claimed. "Are you coming Daddy?"

"Yes, yes, I'll be right behind you and Elizabeth." Harry nodded, then started walking forward, tugging on Elizabeth's hand with all the impatience of the young and energetic. Elizabeth smiled and walked after Harry's tugging.

"Young Harry, do you know where we are going?"

Harry looked back at her, eyes sparkling and a wide grin. He looked astonishingly like his father in that moment. "Nope! We'll go somewhere though, right?" He tugged her forward and she followed with a tinkling laugh. It had been a long time since someone had put her so off kilter, it was refreshing. The Doctor followed along behind his errant child and the queen of England. This was bound to be an interesting adventure.

Harry soon became a regular sight around Buckingham Palace. It had been barely three days yet the sight of the small, black haired boy in the strange clothes was now a common occurrence in hallways, the library, empty rooms and in the throne room. He sat on the queen's lap when she received visitors, listening to them intently and occasionally asking for definitions of words he didn't know.

"Elizabeth," he said, interrupting the good local minister, who looked aghast at the child's blatent informality. "What does 'uninh…uninhab….uninhab…" he paused, trying to say the word properly"

"Uninhabitable?" Elizabeth said gently. She enjoyed the boy's gentle questioning.

"Yes. Uninhabitable. What does it mean?"

"It means that people can't live in those places anymore. Usually because they aren't safe and people can get hurt." Harry nodded solemnly.

"So the people that Mr. Jacob are talking about don't have homes?"

"Not right now. That's why he's here. He's asking for help." Harry nodded in understanding.

"Cause you're the queen and you help people, right?"

"Yes, I do." She proceeded to direct Mr. Jacob's to the funding department to get money for the poor section of London that had collapsed. She started planning a way for the poor to receive help and not just stay on the streets and starve.

Roger Ascham, her old tutor, had given her nothing but praise for the young boy. Harry was smart, articulate and he picked up lessons as if he breathed in the text books. He read with the skill of a child much older than himself and his math skills were breath taking. He seemed to swallow whatever he was given to do and always wanted more. He loved stories of adventurous souls and anything fantastical he delighted in. Roger had asked her where she had found the child. Elizabeth had told him he wouldn't believe her before smiling mysteriously.

The Doctor was fascinating to talk to. Elizabeth had deigned to ever meet a man who would treat her as an equal rather than bowing and scraping or talking to her with condescension and scorn. The Doctor avidly enjoyed their discussions and challenged her. Her views on the world, on the philosophy and religion she had grown up with. He was a being from another planet, a visitor to this Earth, but he seemed so human sometimes. He held Harry as any parent would, close and protectively. He kept an eye on him, made sure Harry was with someone all the time, either himself, Roger or Elizabeth. Harry was good at sneaking out of their sight but the Doctor never lost him.

And he was a genius. Elizabeth had heard that term before. It was used for her by Roger and William when she was a child. She now felt like a child, talking to the Doctor. A child who knew very little at the feet of a wise old master who had the world's knowledge at his fingertips. He never treated her as a child though. He would prop those glasses on his nose and play chess with her as they talked about humanity and ethics and morals and religion.

He believed in Time, its constancy. How it would always be there, maybe not in the same way Elizabeth knew it, as Minutes and Seconds and Hours, but how it would always exist. He believed that humans would strive towards good even if they did such terrible evil. He believed that everything changed and everything moved forward towards some inevitable point somewhere, and that even if it all ended something new would start. He had a faith in the universe that Elizabeth couldn't find in herself in her own religion. It was inspiring.

For all his knowledge and insight, he never belittled her beliefs. He always listened to her and valued what she had to say and never told her she was wrong. He would give her a different view and let her decide, give her another option, if she so chose. It was refreshing.

If Elizabeth was honest with herself, and she always tried to be, in the privacy of her own mind, she was falling a little bit in love with the Doctor. The mystery, the quiet, endless knowledge. His adorable child and his protective adoration of Harry. His directness and clearness. Treating her like an equal, an intellectual in her own right and one to be admired. It wasn't hard to fall in love with him. But she could also tell he wasn't hers, nor was he for her to have.

They had been in the palace for a week and a half. Harry was getting along famously with Roger Ascham, he was enjoying the throne and sitting on it with Elizabeth and listening to people talk about their problems. He liked the library and running around with the servants and he loved the kitchen. Sometimes he sat in with Elizabeth and the Doctor's evening talks, watching them play chess and listening to the Doctor explain the rules.

It was two and a half weeks when the Doctor had that look that Elizabeth knew meant he would leave. He wasn't one to settle down, not unless he had a very very good reason. He was getting fidgety, despite Harry having a wonderful time, and he was getting ready to leave. Elizabeth could tell, just looking at him. Their last night before he left, she leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. He looked astonished.

"You're leaving tonight, aren't you?" she asked him, a sad smile on her face. He couldn't have looked more shocked.

"You could tell?"

"Doctor, I may not be as smart as you, but I have talked with you for a couple weeks. You aren't used to settling down for so long, I can tell. You've let it go so long because of Harry but you're ready to leave. I just…I just wanted to say goodbye, before you picked up and vanished." She hesitated, looking like all of her young twenty-five years rather than the most powerful person in England. "And I wanted to say thank you."

"Thank you? For what?"

Elizabeth smiled. "It might seem strange to you, but most people here are still uncertain of how to treat me. They either try so hard to 'suck up'," she used the word with a lilting amusement, having picked it up from the Doctor earlier in the week, "Or they are too busy thinking I am still a small child, unable to walk on my own. You've treated me like an adult with a mind of my own. It's refreshing. I have enjoyed it." She smiled, dimples flashing. "And I might have fallen just a bit for you, sir Doctor. You are easy to love." Her eyes twinkled at him.

"Oh…um…well, right then. I forget how direct you are, your majesty." He smiled. "I should thank you for all the games of chess, for letting Harry sit with you and learn from your tutor and for teaching him. Not many in your position would."

"I was remembering a kind faced man with a vegetable stuck to his clothes talking to a four year old girl in French for hours. It was only paying back the kindness you showed me Doctor."

The Doctor smiled at her before leaning down and gently kissing her, just a slight press of lips on lips. "Thank you, then, for paying back this old man's kindness to my child. I won't forget it."

Elizabeth blushed lightly. "Come back and visit again, Doctor? Sometime?"

The Doctor smiled that half smile. "I can always try, Elizabeth, Queen of England. Though I can't promise anything."

The queen sighed, smoothing her hands down her elaborately brocaded dress and stepping back. "I guess I will have to live with that hope then, Doctor. I hope to see you again, and Harry. I would love to see the man he grows into. He is going to be a wonderful person." She grinned at him. "And I hope he gets that special skill of his under control. The first time I had to explain why the ceiling of the throne room looked like the night sky was amusing. The tenth time was with a raised eyebrow at a smiling Harry. I had him change it back that afternoon."

The Doctor looked sheepish. He hadn't realized. "Then my apologies for my son's aberrant behavior, your majesty. I will do my best."

The queen smiled before nodding towards the door. "I have asked Roger to bring Harry here. He should arrive any moment. I wish you happy travel, Doctor. Keep Harry safe, won't you? And yourself."

The Doctor nodded. "I will."

Harry rushed into the room and straight for the Doctor's legs, babbling.

"DADDY! Daddy! Roger said that the Romans used to have battles in the Col…col…Coliseum where people were on ships on land and they would flood it full of water! Can we go see? Please?"

The Doctor smiled fondly. "Maybe Harry. Why don't you say goodbye to Elizabeth and Roger okay?"

Harry looked at the Doctor, green eyes wide. "Leaving now?" he asked. The Doctor nodded. Harry sighed. "Okay. Time to leave." He was set gently on the floor and walked over to his tutor. Roger looked at him. "Bye bye Roger. I liked learning things from you. The poems were lots of fun! I liked Baewolf a lot."

Roger smiled. "You were a pleasure to teach Harry. I would love it if you came back sometime." He leaned down to give Harry a hug. Harry then turned to Elizabeth.

"Roger says I should call you Your Majesty but that sounds funny. I like Elizabeth." Elizabeth bent down and picked up Harry.

"It's fine to call me Elizabeth, Harry."

"Alright. Bye Bye Elizabeth. I really liked sitting when you had people come talk to you. And you always explained words to me. I'll miss you."

"And I you. Have fun Harry, and be safe. Alright?"

Harry nodded, smiling. "Maybe we'll come back. The Tardis always likes it when I'm happy so maybe one day." He smiled, then looked at his dad. "Alright daddy, we can go."

The Doctor took Harry from Elizabeth and smiled at her, before he left the room, leaving Elizabeth and her former tutor behind.

They heard the sounds of the Tardis through the empty halls a few minutes later and Elizabeth felt tears slip down her cheeks. She would miss the Doctor and his little son.

The Doctor looked at Harry, who was sitting in his chair. "Alright, ready for a new adventure Harry?" he asked. Harry squealed with delight.

~~~~~Here is an ending~~~~~~

For those of you with multiple updates, I sincerely apologize. I'm a bit OCD about rechecking my stories for mistakes. I found quite a few. They rallied at me to be fixed.

Here it is! I based a lot of the characterization for Elizabeth I off of her childhood and teenage years. She was a very prodigious and intelligent child, fluent in six languages by the time she was eleven. She was show in an episode of Doctor Who, during Martha's run, and I wanted to sort of show their first meeting. I had a lot of fun with it.

Harry's articulacy was based off my own childhood and my disconcerting habit of speaking in full sentences and elaborate stories before I was two. My mother enjoys telling me that I put people off because I was this tiny thing who would ask them personal questions and tell them all about everything that ever happened to me that day.

To helenwhogirl: thank you so much! Here's the next chapter! The next should be up soon! I loved writing it!

To all of you who alerted, reviewed, and Favorited this story, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love this story so much and I'm glad I can share it with you! Reviews are an amazing thing that give me inspiration to write/edit faster. I will always respond to a review I get, unless you review anonymously or don't accept private messages. Thank you!


	4. In Which The Doctor runs into trouble

Guys! thank you so much for all your support! It really means a lot to me! This chapter is my indulgence in classic Doctor-vs-something-not-good. Replies for those I couldn't reach via private messaging will be at the end! Hope you enjoy!

~~~~~This is a beginning~~~~~

The Doctor was excited. They had just packed in for Harry's birthday from the Leisure Platform of Emerald Sky and he had something special planned for Harry. There was this planet he loved, one he didn't get to visit as often as he wished to, but he would take Harry there now. The moving crystals on the planet of Cryoth in the Salesian Galexy were a wonder to behold, the Cryotheens, profoundly kind beings with open arms and open doors.

The TARDIS, now running a little smoother in consideration for the small child on board, landed with a soft bump. "Here we are then Harry! Cryoth, home of the walking stones! Come on, then, up you go!" The Doctor swung a laughing Harry into his arms and headed out the TARDIS doors, locking them as they left.

"Walking stones? Really Daddy?" Harry peered at him curiously. The Doctor smiled and immediately launched into his prepared spiel about the new planet they had landed on.

"Very interesting race, the Cryotheens. Crystal beings whose life comes from the core of the planet, radiating out from the center. The flux of energy is remarkable, every ten years, so the creation of the next generation is all simultaneous and the death of the oldest generation follows in the wake of the energy flux. Extremely peaceful, for the most part, though they have been known to become dangerous when threatened. They are very protective of their youngest members, going to great lengths to make sure nothing harmful befalls them." Harry nodded. The Doctor knew he didn't understand everything and he would answer whatever questions Harry came up with.

"Cryotheens? Is that right daddy?" The Doctor nodded.

"Absolutely."

"So, Cryotheens are nice, right? And they like children?"

"Another correct one Harry. Brilliant." Harry beamed up at him as they walked along the rocky outcropping, following the trail. "Right up here Harry. See, take a look around. All this is the home of the Cryotheens." Indeed, their surroundings were interesting and different. The stone was a bright, sparkling silver, beginning to form the dips and curves of a city. "This stone is inanimate. The energy flux doesn't activate life within them so the Cryotheens use them as a foundation for their cities. They feel a bond with stones, so the use of them as building blocks is more natural. Ah, look the gate!"

Indeed, rising up in front of them was a large, looming gate made from the same, shiny silver stone. The doors were closed, something that made the Doctor's brow furrow. The gates had never been closed before when he came here. Two guards were outside, and these The Doctor pointed out to Harry.

"See the clear, smaller stone on either side of the gate? Those are the Cryotheens. Very peaceful, most of the time. I have never seen the gate closed before though, so I don't really know what's going on."

Harry could see the concern on his father's face and frowned. "Something wrong?" he asked. The Doctor half-shook, half-nodded.

"Something…something isn't right." He paused, knew he should turn back round but couldn't. The Cryotheen were peaceful, welcoming. Something was very very wrong. He glanced at Harry, who looked just as concerned as him, mimicking his facial expression most likely. He steeled himself and walked up towards the gate.

They arrived at the gat unmolested but once there, the Cryotheens rose and one walked towards them, an inner light pulsing quietly.

"Who comes before the Gate?" The capital on gate could be heard. The Doctor smiled.

"I'm the Doctor, this is Harry. I was just going to show him your beautiful city…" he trailed off uncertainly. "Why is your gate closed?" One could almost see the Cryotheen blink, if they had easily discernible eyes.

"How does one who comes to Cryoth not know of the invasion of the Stone-Killers? Those that come from the stars and seek our Heart to use for power are strong. We close our gates to protect ourselves." The stone creature leaned closer. "You do not feel like a stone-killer. Your young one is also unknown. Are you friends of the stone-killers?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, no, nothing like that. We're just tourists, really. Now, who are these stone-killers? Where are they from?" The Doctor's 'Danger' alarm was going off, and he felt his blood pump just a little faster. It was something he had been away from for too long, helping the underdogs. Harry's hands tightened on his sleeve and he spared a part of his brain for concern. He should take Harry back to the TARDIS, leave. Harry was still too young to be involved in these situations. But his blood was pumping. These peaceful beings were in trouble and he could do something to help them. Harry….the Elders would have somewhere safe for Harry to stay. They protected their young fiercely.

"We do not know. They came in ships made of metal, with weapons that shot different kinds of light. They destroyed half a city before we realized they had come to kill us. Now we fortify ourselves. We must protect the Heart." The Gates opened slightly. "Doctor, please bring yourself and your young one within the walls. This is the oldest and strongest city. It has protected us for many cycles. I shall send word of your coming to the Elder. He wishes to know of those entering the city, so he may greet them properly and warn them of dangers." The Guard opened the gate wide enough for them to step through. "The Dome is where the council gathers, and where the Elders will be. Please head towards it." A long arm pointed at the large circle rising out of the mass of buildings.

The Doctor nodded at the guard and slipped through the Gate, holding Harry close.

The Cryotheens were not space-goers, they were too tied to the ground. They needed their Heart, what gave them life. The center of their world. But they knew of space and planets, they welcomed travelers and showed them hospitality within their cities. They listened to tales of far-away places and peoples, sent those who were leaving off with gifts and memories of wonders. They were a peaceful and gentle race, one of the most open-minded in the universe. For that, they had always held a special place in his heart. Still, they weren't the first place on a person's must-see list. The food a Cryotheen offered was made specifically for a Cryotheen, created out of energy set to various frequencies for different purposes. Tourists needed to carry their own food with them if they wanted to stay any length of time. Still, this never stopped the Cryotheens from giving whole-hearted hospitality.

To discover that they were now in danger of falling victim to genocide because someone wanted to use their Heart as a power source was not sitting well with him. Harry had remained silent, hands gripping the brown duster. They entered the city more withdrawn then they had been upon arrival, the Doctor troubled by the news of invasion and Harry feeding off those negative emotions.

The city was as great as it had ever been, large towers and walls all around, housing the families and business that kept the city running. Now, however, an unnatural quiet had settled into the structure of the city, none of its inhabitants were about, talking laughing or making noise in general. There were a few passer-bys, but many of them walked quickly, heading for shelter nearby, their homes or work places. The city seemed deserted, but the feeling of its inhabitants pressed down, suffocating in the fear and panic. It weighed heavily on the city, and the Doctor did not like it one bit.

The Doctor turned around, looking with drawn eyebrows at the lack of people. "Where is everyone? Last I heard this city was crawling with Cryotheens, noise and talking, the brave tourist or two. Where is everyone?" Harry turned his face into the Doctor's shoulder and shivered, not looking around him. "Harry? Is something wrong?"

"Something bad here. I don't like it. Feels wrong." Harry shook his head rapidly against the Doctor's shoulder as if trying to erase whatever t was he was feeling. This was not good news. The Doctor looked more carefully around him now, holding Harry close. While he couldn't take Harry back to the TARDIS, he knew, deep in the beating hearts in his chest, that Harry would be better protected then those he had traveled with before, he would make sure of it.

The Doctor hurried through the streets, towards the large dome in the center of the city where the guard had pointed them. The City Hall, what it equated to on Earth. The place where decisions were made and laws passed, where someone would know something of what was going on.

Someone had better know what was going on.

The Dome was much larger seen closer up, large enough to fit quite a few 10 Downing Streets inside rather comfortably. It worked for the Cryotheens, seeing as they were quite a bit larger than humans in general. The doors were shut, another unusual thing about this entire lay out. Almost no door on Cryoth was closed, ever. It was just against their better nature to bar someone from entering somewhere.

This was also probably why, when they were invaded, they had taken such drastic measurements. Still, the behavior was unusual. Harry pressed himself closer to the Doctor.

"What is it Harry?" Harry just shook his head and stared, wide eyed, at the door in front of them. The door that opened the moment they hit the top step. "Ah, well, at least we don't have to pound away at it then." Or use the Sonic Screwdriver. Though he doubted that it would have opened the door for them.

The shiny stone used for the buildings wasn't used here. Here, the stone was black, so black that all the light around it seemed to be sucked into the surface. It was disquieting to the normal person but the Doctor found the whole thing fascinating. Enough so that he started to reach into his pocket for the spectacles he kept there before remembering that he had a child in his hip and an invading force threatening a planet. He sighed and vowed to look at the rock later.

He turned to the Cryotheen that had opened the door for them. He (the Cryotheens had two sexes, despite lacking the need to reproduce in the way many normal species with two sexes did. Every ten years, a different gender would be born, so a cycle was created. There were few restrictions on what sexes did, other than age limitations. Often, the government would be wholly male or wholly female due to the ages. This time, it was male, obvious by the noticeably darker cast to the color they pulsed.) was large, larger than many others of his race, signifying his age. He had lived long past his time to cycle back to the earth.

"Welcome, Doctor, to Cryoth. I am the Elder. The guards told me of your arrival, and I could only hope they were not jesting, though I wish your visit could be less troubled than this one. We are currently in turmoil with an enemy we have not encountered before, and they bring little but death and destruction." The Cryoth reached to touch Harry with a long, thin, brittle limb. "And you bring a young one with so much energy within his body he is almost a little Heart." Harry, who had almost plastered himself against the Doctor, slowly reached out his own hand and touched the Cryotheen. The cool, pleasantly smooth crystal being pulsed softly. Harry giggled. "He is special Doctor. I would keep him close to you, otherwise our enemies will discover him and may take him instead." The Cryotheen was eight feet tall, give or take, and his large frame was compensated for by the tiny limbs that perpetuated from several places. His face had two brighter spot of color, were the visual center was located. Within the mass of the body was a large, swirling pool of energy, dark blue, that radiated in small veins around the crystal body. Two limbs held him up.

"You sound familiar. Do I know you?" The Cryotheen, who had turned, beckoning them back into the hall, nodded.

"Indeed, though you looked different then and I was but a small heartling. It was at the time of the Great Shake, when many of my kith from my creation were destroyed. You saved me and took me to the city. Myself and two of my kith. We were the few survivors from that creation. Now I am the only one left, allowed life by leave of our Heart to help against this invasion. Come Doctor, we are in need of someone with your skill and knowledge to help us. Your young one can play with our heartlings. Those that are weak are kept within the inner hall, protected from the invasion. He shall too be protected."

The Doctor followed, nodding. Harry would be kept safe by the protections the Cryotheen placed around their young but despite his earlier thoughts of cloistering Harry in the inner sanctum, Harry had managed to wiggle his way out of quite a few inventive attempts the Doctor had used to try and keep him contained. "Harry will go with me. He's a little too smart for his own good sometimes and will usually find a way out of any play pen designed to hold him." Harry thumped happily on the Doctor's side.

"Staying with Daddy! Yes!" And that, as far as the Doctor was concerned, sealed the deal. Harry stayed with him. The Cryotheen ahead of them nodded in agreement. It wasn't their intention to upset the small child.

"So, what is the situation? Why are all the doors closed and locked? I have never heard of the doors closed before."

"The situation, Doctor, is devastating. Our main city, Haven, has been destroyed along with several of our creation sites. The largest is still hidden deep beneath this city, but it is only a matter of time before it is found as well. These invaders, these Stone-killers, are unrelenting in their quest. They demand the Heart and threaten destruction if we do not give it to them. They destroy without thought or pause and give no mercy, even when those they have attacked are helpless against them. It is this that drives the others into their homes out from the open, and why the gates are shut and barred." The Cryotheen had led them into a large stone chamber, a hundred meters high and maybe double that in diameter. There were no windows, the light radiating out from a central point.

Harry giggled and reached out with his hand, wiggling his fingers. Bits of the swirling light flew towards him, lighting up his face and hands with a cool, soft blue glow. The Cryotheens in the room stared, until the one that had guided them spoke, awed.

"You bring a powerful child here, Doctor. You are right to keep him with you. How does he do this, if I may ask?" Harry giggled and wiggled his fingers again, the light fluttered between them as if a lightning bug playing games.

"Honestly, I don't know. Most of his people can't, at such a young age, but he's…special." The Cryotheen nodded.

"Such is why he was entrusted to you, Doctor."

The whispers in the room died down as their guide approached. Murmurs of 'Elder' followed him as he headed towards the center of the room and the light. The Doctor followed, Harry still playing with his new friend. Some of the others reached out brittle arms to touch the boy, looking at the Doctor before they did. He gave his permission, and little hands touched Harry on his arm or back, careful not to touch his head or hands. Harry giggled each time.

"They feel funny Daddy. Like wings." Harry giggled but continued to let the crystal arms reach out to touch him and watched the light play between his tiny fingers. The Doctor smiled. Harry really was extraordinary.

"Here is where we can glimpse these invaders, to see if they are familiar to you, Doctor. The Heart can grant us visions of the beings." All around the room, the Cryotheens reached out to touch each other, forming a large circle. "Let us ask our Heart." A low hum filled the room, almost intense enough to hurt ears but not loud enough. Harry still pressed his hands to his ears, staying quiet but with a decidedly unhappy face obvious. The Doctor watched the light in front of him, looking closely within its depths.

Then, suddenly, he cursed softly.

"You know these beings, Doctor?" Elder asked, standing next to them. The Doctor turned solemn eyes towards the old Cryotheen.

"Yes. They are an old race, one whose planet was destroyed long ago. They weren't killed, though I had thought they would have found another planet to colonize. They were always avid travelers, not much for battle. Not when I knew them. They could fight but preferred other methods of resistance. I don't understand though, they were never fighters….I would have thought they would move on and find another planet." The Doctor stared at the image in the light.

The creatures weren't tall, though they were thin as any sapling. With four arms and four legs, all spindly, they looked like large lizards, except for the distinctly humanoid face. Long and oval, with large eyes and a wide mouth, their face was rather exotic. But the blasting gun they held in their hands was significantly more dangerous than it seemed. And with two long tails to balance them out, the creatures looked agile and fast. Faster than the slow, steady pace the Cryotheens took.

"What are they Doctor? Why are they destroying us if they are peaceful?" The note of confusion in the Elder's voice was heavy.

"I can only guess that after the destruction of Hymnero, their world, those remaining did go look for a new planet, but found little in the universe that wasn't destruction or death. The universe is a beautiful place, but it is also full of people and beings who want to destroy. The Narionights must have retaliated first out of defense, then they began to attack. They require a certain energy fluxuation to run their machinery, and Hymnero was rife with this source, but with it gone, they had to start looking elsewhere. It seems as if Cryoth is just another stop on their path, and I am afraid they may have gone farther down a path of destruction father than could have ever been predicted." He peered intently at the creature pictured.

Harry bounced impatiently on his hip. "Play Daddy! I want to play with the little Cryotheens! Please?" Harry kicked his legs and pointed at the small crystals shuffling around the edge of the room. They were within sight, so the Doctor let Harry down to toddle over to them.

"Stay in sight, Harry, ok?"

"Ok daddy!" Then in sturdy legs, he ran off to join them in their game of colored rocks. The Elder followed the Doctor's line of sight, a happy pulse of light radiating outward.

"He is a special child, Doctor. Human, from observance, yet with such strong power. It is amazing he can contain it at all." The Elder turned to look directly at the Doctor. "You do know that he may one day be unable to control it and he may not survive?" The Doctor looked grim.

"The Guardians of the Forests of Hadroona gave me a similar warning, and they also gave me a gift for him, when the time is needed. I only hope that the inevitable won't be as bad as you all have predicted." Still, the Doctor frowned as he stared at the image of the Narionights, his mind thinking of the boy who had become his child, his son, in such a short period of time. Harry, with his laughs and smiles and impossible existence comforted him in ways that he had never thought he needed. Harry, who needed him just as much as the Doctor needed Harry. It was a comforting feeling, knowing that. Many of his Companions over the years, he needed them far more than they knew, and he became some kind of god to them, this impossible being that they loved without truly understanding. He had cared for them all, but many he could not love. Martha, who loved him so much but left because he could not. Rose, who he loved so much that he returned her to a parallel world with his Metacrisis, so she could live her life with him, a copy of him who would grow old and die with her. But Donna, Donna, his best friend, who no longer remembered him. That was probably the hardest thing he had ever done. Erasing her memory killed a part of his heart he had thought would never return. Now, with Harry in his life, he felt the human part of him, the part that the Time Lords hated so much about him, returning. Harry, who was giving him back his happiness, joy and hope. He smiled softly.

"Yes, the boy is special, Elder. He is certainly that." He could feel the hum of contentment from the Cryotheen next to him.

Then he heard the pop of displaced air behind him, outside of the circle of kneeling Cryotheens, and spun on his heel. No, no, not now. No.

They were gone. All of them, the three dozen heartlings, Harry, they were gone. They had been taken.

He felt his head explode with rage, his hands shake, his hearts race. They had taken Harry. They had taken children, and not just the innocent children of Cryoth, they had taken _his _child.

The Sonic Screwdriver was tight in his hand. He turned to the Elder. "Where is their ship? Where is their ship?" he shouted, voice harsh, lacking the bouncy and light tone it contained earlier. It was the voice of the Time Lord who had destroyed two races, who had been given titles of horror by his enemies and caused any powerful leader in the universe to bow to his desires. The Cryotheen was no different.

"They….they hover over a large fault on the planet, towards the largest mountain, one leading to the Heart. They took the heartlings….why did they take the heartlings Doctor?" It was a mark of how much the Doctor held the Cryotheens in high regard that he didn't immediately storm out of the room and head that direction. The Elder sounded devastated and confused, genuinely not understanding.

"Children of any race are precious, Elder. They mean to use them as leverage to get what they want." He could see the fear and dread fill the Cryotheens, all of them, as they heard his words. "I assure you, I will not let them. They will be returned, unharmed. All of them." He didn't mention that the Narionights would probably not escape unharmed if Harry or the heartlings were hurt in any way.

His coat swirled around him as he left the room, the council remaining behind, devastated and wailing. He reigned in the anger and hate swirling through his mind, bottling it up and storing it until he could use it effectively. He didn't have to wait long, though, because the moment he stepped outside, a small ship, part of a larger fleet, was hovering above the dome. He looked up, his eyes burning in anger, and held up the sonic screwdriver. A small but effective threat.

"Take me on board." It was said in a calm and low tone of voice, masking the deadly intent behind it. "You have taken hostages. I demand to speak for them. Take me on board." There was a moment's hesitation as the ship looked as if it might decide to leave. "In accordance with the Shadow Proclamation, hostages of an age too young to speak for themselves are given leave to have a representative. Take me on board!" He clocked the screwdriver over a setting, pointing it straight up. "Or I will invite myself, and you won't like it." He was beamed up immediately.

He reappeared in a ring of Narionights, all pointing weapons at him. He lanced them all with sharp eyes, until one approached him.

"Who are you, representative of Cryoth children? You are not of Cryoth, you hold technology unknown to us. If you mean to get in our way, you will be destroyed as certainly as those walking stones below us will be." Ah, the Narionight speech pattern. Not something one forgets over the years. A cadence that emphasized all vowels and understated all consonants until it became like a video where one was to follow the bouncy ball and sing along to the tune. The Doctor was far too angry to be amused.

"You have broken all articles of war as laid down by the Shadow Proclamation after the last Galactic War. You have taken children as hostages and you threaten genocide against a race that has done nothing to you. You use weapons against the defenseless and you destroy those who have not threatened you. What do you seek to gain?" The Narionights, all pale with large, dark eyes, laughed outright.

"The universe has broken those proclamations. We are fending for ourselves. We need the energy or we will be defenseless in turn. They are not doing anything with it. It is ours for the taking." The one who had approached the Doctor said, voice full of belief.

"You have fallen far from your roots, Narionights. There was a time you were the most beautiful crafters in the Universe and made items craved by the farthest planets. What happened to you?"

Immediately they all stepped back. "How do you know of this stranger? The history of the Narionights was lost long ago, the only records are those within our ships and the relics from our past. None know our name anymore." Then the self-proclaimed leader looked closer at the Doctor, before backing up and raising his gun. "You, you are one of them. Them that destroyed it all. The legends of the universe that exist only as fairy tales and as a warning. A Time Lord."

"But they all died," a Narionight whispered. "All of them, in the final battle."

The Doctor glared. "No, I survived. The only one. And you have broken covenants and even your own species' code of non-violence, of peace."

"When the last of a race is shoved into the empty blackness in a universe where beauty is far between and the ugliness fills the space, a species must evolve. You only have your own people to thank for us. Now, we survive by scavenging and ravaging worlds. The monster sweeping in and leaving. We are the last, and we will have this world." This was said with a finality, and the Doctor clenched his fist.

"I will not let you destroy this world, this race of beings that bring beauty into the world and harm none. And I will have the children back, all of them, even the human child you took on board."

Confusion filled numerous faces, and one of the Narionights spoke. "We have only the stone beings children, Time Lord. There are no….human children." A sly look crossed a face. "This human child, is it yours?" The Doctor stiffened. Harry wasn't here. Harry wasn't here and he wasn't back in the citadale. Where was he?

"Let me see the children, all of them. Unharmed."

"And why should we? What can you do, surrounded by guns?" The Doctor pulled out the screwdriver again and clicked it to another setting, before pointing it at the control board behind the closest Narionight. It sparked and fizzed. "That was the drive mechanism! We cannot go anywhere without it…." The Doctor began to spin around the room, ready to blow something else up. "Right, right, the children. Hold fast."

A Narionight closest to the far door was sent scurrying off to retrieve the small Cryotheens. He returned with two more Narionights and the thirty-six children clumped between them. Small keening noises emanated from the heartlings. The Doctor approached one of them, the oldest (though not by much). He knelt down and took a small limb in his hands.

"Do you know where the little boy with you went?" A picture of Harry playing with the light flashed in front of the Doctor's eyes. "Yes, him. He went to play with you. Do you know where he went?" Another image, this one of a hole in the ground, leading far, far underground. Farther than the young heartling could conceive. An image of Harry slipping into it floated across the Doctor's mind. His eyes widened. "No. No. He wouldn't be able to survive. He wouldn't be able to live after a fall like that. He's just a child, a baby…"

The equations and physics flashed through his mind, giving him the statistics of a child Harry's size falling that far surviving, and they all came out zero. All of them. The Doctor collapsed to the floor, letting the Cryotheen's limb fall back. The heartling reached out, touching the Doctor's forehead. An image of Harry playing with the lights again, though more intense. As if trying to remind the Doctor that Harry was special.

"He's just a baby though. He can't, not that far. Not if it's as far as you say it is." Another image, one of the Heart. The Tunnel led there. It was an indistinct image though. "I don't…I don't…." The Doctor turned to the Narionights. "What were you planning to do to get the Heart? What methods?" He snapped at the nearest Narionight. The being started.

"Um, there were plans to charge up the last laser cannon until it drilled the surface down to the Heart….why am I telling you this? You do not need any information…." That was all the Doctor needed to know, because he knew if Harry did manage to survive through some miracle of magic, if the Narionights did use the drill, he knew Harry would be killed. He swirled on his heels.

He didn't get far though, because he fell to his knees as a shockwave of emotion and words swept through his mind. Every other single being on Cryoth or above it also fell to their knees, or in the Narionight's case, all the way down, keeled over. Overwhelmed by the thought-projection. A thought that was filled with the gleeful and happy voice of the boy he had come to treasure, calling to him.

"_Daddy! Love you! Daddy! Love you!" _

Repeated over and over and filled to the brim with the purity of a child's love, the unending and unthinking love of a child. It was encompassing and complete, and the Cryotheen heartlings sang with happiness all around him, their voices and inner light pulsing in time with the wave. The Doctor felt tears on his cheeks, a smile on his face, as disbelief of Harry's safety warred with joy and happiness. The Harry voice giggled, an unmistakable giggle the Doctor had come to love dearly, a clapping sound filtered through, and Harry shouted his words again. _"Daddy! Love you!" _

"Love you too Harry." Harry giggled through his mind. The Doctor rose again, a smile on his face, looking around him. Harry was safe. Harry was safe.

It was enough to fill his hearts with joy.

The Narionights around him though, were not so joyful. The emotional wave that had accompanied the words had swept through each of their minds. To the Doctor, it was a soothing, brilliantly amazing feeling. To the Cryotheens it was joyful and energizing. To the Narionights it was like pouring rubbing alcohol on a gaping wound. It had damaged them irreparably. Their minds were insensible, and would be that way for a long time.

It was probably the quickest punishment and the harshest. They were alive, they just couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't speak. They could feel though, and the love and pureness was slowly killing them. The Doctor sighed. He would send a message to the Judoon, under the Cryotheen's line, and ask them to come pick them up. The Judoon would handle them. At the moment, that might be the most merciful thing he could do for them. A hand, weak, tugged at the hem of his jacket. He turned. One of the Narionights was still conscious, though only just.

"What…what were we like….back then? When…when we made…art? When we….made things….beautiful?" The Narionight was young, still just barely into adulthood and obviously a new recruit. The Doctor sighed. Yes, this would be one of the ones still conscious.

"The Narionights of Hymnero created the most beautiful works of art in the universe. They used energy stones harvested from their planet to power their machines and clans would specialize in one trade. The Narionight work was sold all over the universe as special collectors pieces. Your planet was beautiful, full of the stuff of legends. When it was destroyed, it was a loss to the universe." The young warrior blinked large eyes.

"I think…I would have…liked that…" then those eyes fluttered closed, and the hand fell, limp. The Doctor sighed.

"And it is a shame the others could not see that." He walked over to the teleport, the heartlings gathering behind him, around him, forming a circle. "So, back home we go, little ones. Back home you go." And to find Harry, for me, he added silently. He ran the sonic screwdriver over the panel, and the heartlings all popped out of the ship, himself following after. He would ask the Elder for a path to the Heart, and to Harry.

Harry had just left his Daddy not minutes ago, to come play with the little stones that moved. He loved them, these strange creatures that had energy within them. They pulsed and probed and felt wholly new to Harry. He wanted to go see the little ones, the ones only a bit bigger than he was.

He also didn't get very far before he tripped over a ledge on the floor and fell much farther than the floor was supposed to be.

He fell far, for a long time, down and down and ever farther down. He wasn't in space, all the blackness with the bright stars in it, because he could feel the ground beneath him, even though he wasn't getting hurt. It was fun, for a while. He liked sliding, it always felt like he was flying. Now though, he had been sliding so long that he was starting to get bored and nothing new was happening. He couldn't wiggle his fingers and bring the light back, it wasn't working well.

Soon though, he could see the end, a light filtering up through the tunnel he was sliding down, and Harry cocked his head. Maybe Daddy was down there, waiting to catch him?

He flew out the end, flying through the air with the momentum he had picked up sliding downward, and landed on top of a large stone. He blinked.

"Daddy? Daddy, where are you?" No answer. He looked around. There were other stone-beings, Cryotheens, all different colors, like the stone he was sitting on. But he didn't care. He couldn't see his dad. His tears bubbled up over his lashes and plopped down his cheeks. "Daddy? Daddy? Where are you? Daddy?" his hands rubbed his eyes and he tried to stand up. The stone was curved, barely flat enough to let him sit on its surface but hugely round. He couldn't get purchase enough to stand up. He sat back down heavily, sniffling.

Beneath him, the stone pulsed, reaching out towards the child who had landed on it. Such a strange child, it thought. Such power, such energy welling up inside him. A human child. Strange little one. And he was crying. The Heart would have frowned if it could. It did not like tears of children. The pulse of energy it sent out surrounded Harry and brought him within the depths of the Heart.

Harry giggled at the sensation, red-rimmed eyes clearing of tears. He enjoyed the tickling of the pulse. "You are the Heart stone?" he asked. A positive-amused pulse. Harry laughed. "Find my Daddy please? I miss Daddy." The Heart would have cocked an eyebrow, if it had such things. Instead it searched for the mind-signature of the being Harry called Daddy and found him standing under a large ship, one of the invaders intent on destroying its people. The Doctor was taken on board after numerous threats. Harry's eyes widened. "Bad. They are not nice. They took the heartlings." Harry shook his head furiously. The Stone pulsed softly, questioning. Harry looked like he would cry. "Don't like the lizard-peoples. They hurt the Cryotheens. The Cryotheens are nice." The Heart felt faint amusement at the declaration of this strange, odd child. He was a child of a machine that was bigger inside and traveled through the vortex of time and he saw the world with strange eyes.

Child, the Heart whispered in his mind. Is there anything you want to tell your Daddy? So he knows you are safe? He thinks you are hurt, young one. Harry nodded, clearing his tears.

"Uh-huh. I wanna tell Daddy Love you. Daddy! Love you! Daddy love you!" The little boy yelled the last words, and the Heart took the liberty of reaching into the boy's mind and finding the emotions he felt, sending them out, broadcasting them through every mind on the planet and directly above it, as far as its influence would reach. A child's emotions, the Heart thought, was a much more effective weapon when used as a telepathic link. Harry could feel his Daddy though, and laughed. Giggled. Clapped. "Daddy! Love you!" he shouted again. The Doctor's relief was tangible.

"_Love you too Harry." _The words were filled with relief and happiness. Harry laughed delightedly. The Heart pulsed brightly, and Harry reached out to touch the crystal surrounding him.

"Nice Heart," he commented. He wiggled his fingers, his way of calling for the magic that lay under his skin. The bright sparkles tickled the Heart, and the crystal was curious. This child was strong, powerful and different from any other being the Heart knew of.

_Harry, child-being, what are these light-sparkles-colors-energy you have?_ The Heart said, making sure to use its softest tone. Harry's eyes widened.

"Daddy says magic. I just like the colors. I can make sparkles and planets to play with. See!" Harry spun his hands around and his personal solar system appeared, one that defied all logical laws of physics. The Heart examined it, the energy used and the way Harry manipulated it.

_That is a very special gift, Harry-child. Very few can use their energy in such a unique way. _The Heart's mind-voice was filled with awe. This boy-child-human who could change the fabric of reality with wiggling fingers and will was strong indeed. Harry sat and spun the mass of stars and planets around for a few minutes, before sighing.

"Can I go back to Daddy?" he asked, eyes wide. "Miss daddy lots." The Heart pulsed softly.

_Harry-child, I can send you back to your daddy, but I need some of your energy to do so. I cannot with my power alone. May I have your help? _Harry nodded. _Thank you Harry-child. I need you to think very hard about your daddy, everything, I have to find him. _ There was a pause as the Heart searched for the Doctor again. _ I have found him, Harry-child. I will show you an image of him. I need you to wish very hard to be with him. All you have. You will be tired afterward, Harry-child. _Harry nodded resolutely and squeezed his eyes shut. He felt energy gather around him, pull him towards a light, then he popped back into reality.

Right in front of the Doctor. Harry smiled. "Daddy! The Heart sent me back!" The relief evident on the Doctor's face was clearer than the sun on a cloudless day. Harry was swept into long, skinny arms and held tightly.

"Harry, my amazing, wonderful Harry! Thank the stars you're alright!" The Doctor privately thanked Harry's magic as well. The sentience around it was truly amazing, to cater to the whims and needs of a nearly two-year old so well. For now though, he reveled in the feeling of Harry in his arms, safe and sound. Harry burrowed into the Doctor's coat, yawning.

"Tired now, Daddy. Can I go to bed?" Harry turned his young face up, finding his father's eyes. The Doctor smiled.

"Of course, Harry. I just have to talk to the Elder again, before we go back. Alright?" Harry nodded, yawning, eyes closing. He was asleep before the Doctor had reached the doors. The elder waited for him.

"Doctor, we heard the voice of a child from our Heart. Do you know what it was? Every single one of us heard it, all over Cryoth. They say that the invaders collapsed at the same time." The Elder was clearly confused.

The Doctor laughed gaily. "Yes, yes, I know. The Heart, your Heart, drew little Harry to it, through a crack in the citadel. He talked to your Heart, and the Heart carried his message on a wave of pure energy, into the minds of all the beings on the planet. Destroyed the minds of the Narionights, they couldn't handle a child's emotions dialed up that loud." The Doctor looked fondly down at the child sleeping in his arms. "Little Harry here saved us." In so many more ways than one. He kept that part to himself. Harry shifted and snuggled deeper into the Doctor's coat.

The Elder looked down at Harry, pulsing quickly, disbelieving. "This small child? His was the voice we all heard? Whose emotions we all felt?" The Doctor nodded. "He is special indeed. Anything you need of us, Doctor, we are at your service."

"Oh, yes I do need your communication system. I need to get in contact with the Shadow Proclamation. Have them send the Judoon to come clean this all up. Shouldn't take long. They owe me a few favors. Well, a favor…well, they should listen." And with that, the Doctor bounded in towards the central chambers.

Soon, well, as soon as word to the Council was sent and they agreed to come take the Narionights off the planet and out of the sky, the Doctor and the sleeping Harry were leaving, saying their final goodbyes as they left through the outer gates. The Cryotheens were gathered in the streets, pulsing happily and talking amongst each other. The threat was over. They were safe.

The Doctor walked back to the TARDIS, Harry balanced on his hip, the tyke's eyes still closed. He really was something. The blue wooden doors opened, welcoming them back home, and closed behind them. The TARDIS chirped cheerfully and Harry was laid in bed.

Off on another adventure. Preferably, this time, not so close to something so life threatening.

~~~~~~~~~~this is an Ending~~~~~~~

Hope you all enjoyed it! The Cryotheens and the Narionights are of my own invention. I loved creating them!

Replies

Fan of good writing: Thank you so much! I plan on spending a good portion of time in Harry's childhood. Introducing him to the universe, seeing him sort of grow up. The adventures will be scattered through his childhood and there will be a focus on Magic and I do want to do a visit to early Hogwarts. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

helenwhogirl: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed Lix I. She was a treat to write! I have a couple side stories planned with her. I might include a bonus section where Harry and the Doctor come back during which time he manages to make an enemy of her. I'll have to see how the story turns out. And yes, Harry's childhood will involve a lot of traveling around and seeing different times/places/people/events. I'm having a blast writing it! Thank you!

To all of my awesome reviewers, alerters, favoriters, you all make my day! Thank you! The next chapter should be up shortly and it'll probably answer a lot of your questions as to how I'm changing canon. Thank you so much!

Kuroi


	5. In Which Things take a strange turn

Hey guys! This is a tad bit later than I thought I would be posting this but I wanted to get a lot more written on later chapters so I would have something for you all when I ran out of pre-written works!

I have had a few questions I thought I would answer as a whole here for anyone else wondering. Main question: Who will Harry be paired with? Answer: I don't know right now. I have some things planned that would not only put that off for a bit but I am really focusing on Harry as a small child. It's really hard to figure out who to pair a two year old with. Whether it will be with a guy or a girl or something else in the middle or some strange alien character I come up with, I'll be sure to give you all a heads up as to possible plans.

River Song, keep, change, what happens to her? And to Amy and Rory, will they still be there?: I was asked this and immediately hit with several different ideas. I wouldn't mind hearing from you all what happens with her and Amy and Rory. I love Amy and Rory and River but, with the way I have changed canon, River and the Doctor wouldn't really become what they became before. I almost want to do something dramatic and shocking to River. O.O

Rose and Jack, when are they going to show up?: They'll be appearing soon. I have a story line to play out and interesting things to toss at Harry and the Doctor (and soon enough, Jack) before all of them show up in the TARDIS. ^_^

Thank you all so much for the support! I'll respond to those reviews I couldn't respond to through PM at the bottom of the chapter! This is a fix-it/change the canon chapter. Hope you all enjoy the ways I changed things.

~~~~~~~This is a Beginning~~~~~~

He had put it off far too long, he knew. The Ood had contacted him before he had been given Harry, and he had studiously avoided any galaxy that had Ood in them, and the Planet of the Ood. He did not want to return. At first it was avoidance of the prophecy he had been foretold of his death, then it became a matter of protecting the boy he had grown to love unconditionally. Harry was too important to trust to his next incarnation, really. Those first few weeks of adjusting to a new face, a new body, a new everything, the memories that could be lost, no, he couldn't trust himself with Harry if he changed. So he had been avoiding the Ood.

But it was inevitable now. The timelines were beginning to converge and he had to see them. They wouldn't have contacted him if it hadn't been important, and Harry was two now. Two years and a bit more, and much more articulate and his magic responded to his whims much quicker. Little Harry, who was bundled up in warm clothes and nestled on the Doctor's bony hip, smiling and asking questions. Little Harry, who had given him so much hope in himself and in time again that he found the courage to come to the Ood. So, pasting a smile across his face and jogging Harry once more, he jaunted out of the TARDIS with a bounce.

Ood Sigma was waiting in the snow.

"Hello there! Sorry, now where were we? I was summoned, wasn't I? Ood in the snow, calling to me. Well, I didn't come straight here, you know. Travelled, you know me. Had a bit of fun. Named a galaxy Alison, met Queen Elizabeth, now that was a treat, got married, that was a mistake. Oh, and I picked up a friend here. Saved a planet, he did. Little Harry, two years old and already saving planets. Isn't that brilliant?"

Ood Sigma, who had been perfectly composed before, now gazed at the child. "I have heard nothing of the boy you bring, and the Elder Ood sees all. Who is he, Doctor?" Harry giggled and reached out to touch the Ood's light ball. It flashed.

"Pretty lights. It makes you talk. Brain conne…connec…connec…" Harry looked up for a pronunciation.

"Connection Harry. The orb connects directly to the brain and was used to control the Ood when humans used them as slaves. Originally they had a second brain in their hands. The humans, the bad ones, replaced it." Harry frowned at this bit of knowledge.

"Humans are bad. I like the Ood. They're nice." Harry smiled widely. He reached out a hand again and touched the Ood. Ood Sigma looked startled.

"The child is smart. He seems human, Doctor. How is that so?" The Doctor shook his head.

"Not now, Ood Sigma. You called me here, what did you want?" The Ood shook his head.

"Yes, you should not have delayed. The matter we called you for is important." The Ood looked at Harry. "Though with your new charge, I do not know precisely how the Elder of the Ood will tell you of this."

"The last time I was here you told me my song would be ending soon. It sorta makes a fellow not want to come back. Besides, I have a greater responsibility now." He hefted Harry.

The two began their walk towards the city. "Yes, that was told to you. I cannot say for certain if that still holds true. Harry is a strange being. Time does not flow around him as it would any other being. Even you, Time Lord, you have points in your life that were fixed and are now no longer there." The Doctor crooked an eyebrow. "The Ood can hear a person's song. Yours has just become stranger, different, than it was the last time we met. Ah, here is the city."

The three stopped, and the Doctor stared. "Maginificent. Isn't it Harry, Splendid. Oh, it is. And you've achieved all this in how long?"

"One hundred years." The Doctor turned to stare at Ood Sigma.

"Then we have a problem. This is way too fast. Not just this city but your ability to call me. You were put back to the 21st century. Something is accelerating your species way beyond normal." Harry tugged on the Doctor's jacket.

"Pretty shiny lights Daddy. Everything's too pretty and he laughs here. Everywhere he laughs." Harry frowned.

Ood Sigma nodded. "The mind of the Ood is troubled by the same thing Doctor."

"What do you mean?"

"Every night Doctor. Every night we have bad dreams." Ood Sigma looked down at Harry. "Dreams that your little one describes well. Come, the Elder of the Ood is waiting."

The circle of Ood around the lit incense had the Doctor stopping a bit. Harry tugged on the Doctor's jacket.

"Down, Please. I want to talk to Ood, please." Harry was set on his feet, and he pattered over the stone floors towards the Ood with the most prominent brain, the folds and lobes visible. Harry smiled. "Hello! I'm Harry. You have pretty songs. Can I listen?" Harry held out a hand towards the Ood, who stared at him with wide eyes, before something akin to a smile took over the large eyes.

"Of course, Harry with the strange song. Listen." And he took Harry's hand in his. The Doctor quirked and eyebrow. Harry being able to hear the songs wasn't something unexpected. His innate magic would have let him catch pieces of the melody, filtered through his own energy until it came as if over a distant mountain. Not as loudly as the Doctor heard the songs, but he would hear them. To request to listen to a song was another thing though. And to ask the Elder of the Ood, well, Harry was something special after all.

Harry had closed his eyes and cocked his head, hand enfolded within the Ood's, and he smiled, humming pieces of the melody unconsciously. It was a strange scene he doubted would ever be repeated again, a toddler barely tall enough to come up to his knees holding an Ood's hand and listening to the music of fates.

To Harry, the Music soared and swelled, building up to an infinite point before plummeting to the ground. It was like the stars, building and expanding and sometimes exploding but always continuing on. It's melody was beautiful, and he loved listening to it. He opened his eyes. Daddy had things to do here, but he wanted to hear the music before they had to rush off again. "Thank you. It's very pretty. Like stars, only in sounds instead." Then he smiled and ran back to his dad.

The Elder of the Oods looked towards the Doctor. "We were bringing you even more bad news, Doctor, before your little one came. Now, we are uncertain of your song, even as our news remains the same. Harry here changes much that he touches, like you do. Except Harry can change even you." The Ood composed themselves again. "Join us Doctor, join with us." Around the circle, the chant was continued, as Harry was settled in between the Doctor's crossed legs as he sat. Hands were joined, and Harry placed his on top of the Doctor's.

A flash of a laughing man, maniac laughter and mad face filled his mind. The Doctor jerked back. Harry whimpered.

"The laughing man." The Ood nodded.

"He comes in our dreams every night. I fear all the peoples of the universe dream of him."

"That man is dead. I saw him die."

The Ood stared. "There is yet more. Come see. Things that have happened are changing the now."

The face of Wilfred, Donna's grandfather. The Doctor worried. Then of the Master's betrayed wife, the two other faces, unfamiliar ones. The Doctor frowned, shared his side of the story with the Ood. They listened. They warned him.

Then they talked to him. Harry sat in the Doctor's lap the whole time, silent. The situation was grave and he felt the mood. "Doctor, do not despair though. Things are coming, things that bring with them the end of Time, but events change even now, as we look upon this small child with strange energy and bright eyes. Do not despair." The Doctor nodded, grabbing Harry up and running out of the cave.

If what the Ood said was going to happen, he had to get there, quickly. Harry held on tightly, barely whimpering at the iron grip the Doctor held him in.

"Alright Harry, It's going to be alright. You'll be fine." The words were muttered like a mantra under the Doctor's breath. The Tardis doors were opened with the clicker key and Harry held on tight to the chair beside the controls. The Doctor took a moment to strap him in tightly. He didn't have the time to be gentle now, so the restraints would hold Harry in place in case the TARDIS had to pull any tricks out to get where he needed to get to.

They landed with a thump. The Doctor turned to Harry. "Harry, I really need you to stay here, in the TARDIS. I have to go talk to someone, but he's very dangerous, ok? Please stay in the TARDIS okay Harry?" He released Harry's restraints and took off the large coat the boy wore.

Harry nodded. "Alright daddy. Come back okay? I love you!" Harry hugged the Doctor and kissed his cheek. The Doctor smiled.

"I'll be back. Count on it. Love you too." And with that, the Doctor rushed out of the TARDIS. Harry sighed. Now he had to go find those crayons from the Horse Head Galaxy that would make his drawings animated. Where had he dropped them?

The TARDIS locked the doors on the inside, making sure Harry couldn't get out, and found those crayons quickly. And paper. She would keep the little one safe.

The Doctor ran back to the TARDIS. The Master had left, the drumming in his head was real. He couldn't think straight anymore. Everything he had thought insanity wasn't, not anymore. That sound was supposed to be something he created, something he made up.

The sun was rising above the horizon; he had left Harry alone for almost a full day. Now bad parenthood was being added to the lengthy list of things he was bad at. And he needed to find Wilfred again. Meeting him twice, twice in the same century, the same decade, within the same five year span, was not something to ignore. He knew something.

He unlocked the doors and raced inside, and was greeted by a very enthusiastic toddler running from the kitchen, a piece of apple in his mouth. Well, at least he could get to the food.

"Daddy! You're back!" The Doctor swept the child up in his arms.

"Harry. How are you? Did you sleep alright?" Harry nodded.

"TARDIS made me go to bed. But she got me dinner and breakfast. And I made drawings!" Harry pointed at the now inanimate figures littered in the corner. Apparently there had been a giant battle between the three headed stick people and giant trees.

"I see that. Where are they from, the trees?"

Harry smiled. "They're from Lifria. It has three moons and lots of water. The people are from Galife. They aren't very nice and wanted to cut down all the trees on Lifria." And those names, the Doctor thought, had just a little too much in common with Gallifrey.

"Who won Harry?" Harry shook his head.

"No one. They all died." Harry sadly placed his head on the Doctor's chest, then he giggled. "I like Daddy's hearts. They go thump-thump-thump-thump thump-thump-thump-thump." Harry's hand tapped out the rhythm on the Doctor's chest as he giggled.

"No no no no….it can't be, it can't….no. It can't be that simple…." That rhythm, it was just like the one the Master heard, the one he heard from the connection, one he knew instinctively. It was the beat of Time Lord hearts, amplified and seared into the brain. But why would they do that? Why drive someone insane, someone as brilliant as the Master?

"Daddy okay?" Harry had stopped his tapping and was now looking up at the Doctor in concern. Large green eyes brought the Doctor out of the whirl of his mind and back onto what he needed to do.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Alright, Harry, how about you meet a friend of mine? His name's Wilfred." Harry clapped his hands and held onto the seat as the Doctor raced around the controls. The TARDIS landed gently. "I'll be right back Harry."

Harry climbed out of the chair, modified for him with protective railings and restraints and everything, and back to his snack in the kitchen. His apples were waiting for him.

The pile of drawings in the corner drew his eye. They were sad, all of them. They all lost and all of them died. It wasn't a happy drawing. He sighed. Next time he would have stars that laughed and lots of planets and they would make up games to play with the moons. Well, as long as he didn't make any hit the walls and leave marks. The TARDIS didn't like it when he did that.

The doors opened before he made it to the kitchen, and he turned back. Daddy came back faster, and he brought a person with white hair and a beard, like one that Daddy gets when he doesn't shave cause he's too busy working on a problem with his sonic screwdriver.

"Daddy! You're back!"

"Daddy! You're back!" Wilfred turned with wide eyes to see a small child, one he would have guessed to be a little over a year if he was running so well, run towards them. Bright green eyes and messy, long black hair were the most remarkable traits, followed by,

"You have a son Doctor?" Harry ran up the gangplank and climbed the step ladder to his chair. The Doctor waved at Harry.

"He's…well, he's not technically my son, but, well, he is, in a way, well, yeah. Wilfred, meet Harry. Now, we have to go. Harry, buckle in. Wilfred, hold tight. Oh, and yes. Bigger on the inside."

The Doctor ran around the console and flipped switches and pushed buttons, the center column lighting up and whirring most impressively. Wilfred stared at Harry, then looked at the Doctor.

"So, wait, if this is a time machine, can't we go back to yesterday to catch the guy you're chasing?"

"Nope, can't go back in my own timeline. I have to stay relative to the Master in the causal nexus. Understand?"

"No, I'm afraid not." The Doctor smiled.

"Welcome to the TARDIS. Hold on!" The TARDIS rattled around and spun, causing Harry to giggle uproariously. Wilfred stared at him again.

"Do you take him on all these dangerous things you do?" The Doctor looked over at Harry.

"Not usually. The TARDIS is practically the safest place in the universe now. If it's too dangerous, I leave him here. The TARDIS takes care of him, don't you girl?" A whirring noise answered him. "Harry's a rather special case. Not technically my son, but for all intents and purposes, he is. Had him almost a year now and he's already saved a planet. Not this one, another one. Brilliant child." The Doctor looked at the boy who was laughing and clapping on the other side of the console. Wilfred nodded.

The TARDIS lurched, alerting them to touch down.

"Harry, I want you to stay in here alright? I might not be back for a while, but I will be back, promise. Okay Harry?" Harry nodded. He was stuck here. At least it wasn't boring. He had his crayons again.

"Alright Daddy. Love you." Harry wiggled out of his restraints and down onto the platform, before heading to his paper and crayons. Wilfred and the Doctor headed out.

"He's rather talkative. How old is he?"

"Two and a couple months, I think. Hard to tell when you travel without a good calendar. Never had a problem before, but I guess. He's about two. Bright kid though."

Wilfred could only nod in agreement. When his kids had been two, they were still trying to pile blocks on top of one another in a seemingly orderly fashion.

"Do you think he changed them in their graves? Did he change them?" The Doctor looked up from the electrical work, eyes grave, face solemn.

"I'm sorry." Wilfred looked down at his hands.

"Your…your son, is he safe? In your ship?" The Doctor looked out at the sky.

"The TARDIS is out of synch with time. It wouldn't have affected him. He's safe, drawing and playing games."

"Forever, Doctor? If you die, what happens to him?" The Doctor looked back, a sad smile on his face.

"Time Lords die, but they become something new. I will die, everything that I am will die, but someone new, with my memories, will take my place. Still the Doctor, still in the TARDIS, just someone brand new. That is death to a Time Lord. Death of a personality, of a body, but not of a soul. Harry will have a protector, but it won't be me."

Wilfred nodded, not completely understanding but the despairing undertones came through. Whatever it was, wasn't good.

Harry, eating a piece of bread covered with Salisberry jam from New Earth, was jerked out of concentration as the TARDIS shook and quivered. The Solar System he had been constructing, containing a large planet with two suns and fourth in line, dissolved and he fell over. The TARDIS groaned softly and Harry shook his head. Something didn't feel right, not at all. The TARDIS didn't make that noise, not usually.

He reached for that weird, colorful energy that would create worlds when he asked it to and asked it to take him to his daddy. He knew his daddy needed help. The Ood told him, when he was listening to their song. It told him that, at some point, his daddy would need him, even when he didn't think he would.

His magic acquiesced. He popped out of the TARDIS.

The TARDIS mourned. Both of her friends were gone now. She hoped they would both return.

Everyone was loud, rushing and screaming and running and Harry pressed himself against a wall. He could see his dad, laying on the floor. And five people in red, and another in black. They were just standing still. One person was trapped in a glass cage. Harry asked the colorful energy to help him. His dad never wanted to leave people behind and the man in the glass cage was banging on the wall. The door opened with a soft click and the man blinked in astonishment before running off. He wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth despite the impossibility of the doors opening on their own.

The door hung open for a moment before the Doctor lunged and slammed it shut. Everyone else in the room stared at him in astonishment. He knew what had happened and the Master knew what had happened shouldn't have been possible.

"Harry. Oh, Harry. Stay hidden. Please please stay hidden," he whispered. The last thing he needed was the President using his child against him. Rassilon would, he knew he would. The Master would as well. The Doctor looked around the room and caught Harry's wide, frightened green eyes. Then he shook his head. Harry ducked down.

"Doctor, what was that?" the Master asked, staring at the now empty boxes. The Doctor struggled on the ground.

"I did nothing." The Master scoffed at the statement. Rassilon stared between the two aberrant Time Lords with narrowed eyes. Something was going on here, something he wasn't quite understanding. Something had happened and he had missed it.

Wilfred passed right by Harry, almost through the doors, before Harry grabbed his pant leg. "Wil…Daddy says stay." The old soldier nearly jumped out of his shoes.

"Harry? What are you doing here? I though the Doctor left you in his ship!" The words were semi-whispered. Harry tilted his head.

"Daddy needed help. I asked the colorful energy to take me to him. I am here." Simple, logical progression of events. Wilfred's eyes widened.

"How old are you?"

"I dunno. Had my birthday on Emerald Sky. Pretty shiny place." Harry smiled.

"Your dad must be proud of you." Harry shrugged. Wilfred hugged Harry to him. The child really was brilliant, if a bit reckless. Then again, small children rarely know when to not do things.

Wilfred peered around the door. The Doctor was on his feet, pointing the gun at the five in red. Then back towards the Master, then he turned again. Like he wouldn't make up his mind. Finally, he swiveled towards the person he had called friend, long ago. Harry saw the tall man in the front raise the glove just as the Master leaned out of the way. The Doctor shot just as the glove came up.

"Daddy!" Harry raced towards the Doctor. Every single person in the room stopped moving. It was as if hostilities ceased immediately.

"Who is that child Lord Doctor?" The Doctor looked up at the President.

"My son in all but blood. A human child with more heart and courage than you have ever had." The Doctor reached down to lift up Harry. "And the savior of the wizarding race. More important to the universe than any Time Lord."

"The what?" The Master behind him exclaimed. The Doctor turned sideways.

"Wizards. The only remaining descendents of the Eternals. Eternal blood mixed with humans. Brilliantly ingenious plan. And this child here, is that result." Harry waved. Four of the five Time Lords standing on the dais now slowly dissolving into light were openly shocked.

The President purpled with rage. "You die with us, you and your human child!" The Doctor looked up at the President, mouth open to say something.

"Move Doctor. This is my revenge." The Master looked at the Doctor and Harry. "At least you never lied to me. Ever." He knocked the two of them aside and, as they all vanished into the light, Harry pulled himself closer to the Doctor.

"Daddy. You're safe now, right?" The Doctor smiled, tears in the corner of his eyes.

"Safe now." He pulled Harry close. Wilfred walked up behind them, fumbling nervously, hands wringing.

"Well, then, see, you didn't die." The Doctor turned a smile up at the old man.

"Nope. Now I'm just alone again. But I have Harry. For now, that's enough." The Doctor tickled Harry, listening to the bright laughter and holding the breathing squirming body of the child that had saved him.

He saw, when Harry got that man out of the glass box, he saw what would have happened. He saw Wilfred go in, save the man, he saw his victory, and heard the four knocks. Harry saved him from that, and as the power plant went hot and vented the excess radiation into an empty box, he hugged Harry closer. He got to be himself for just a little while longer. Just a little.

They dropped Wilfred off down the street from his house. The old soldier saluted as the box disappeared, before he walked back to the house that held his daughter and granddaughter. With the man who saved worlds back in the sky, laughing and smiling with his son, not as broken as he seemed to be before when he had returned Donna, well, he felt a lot safer.

~~~~~~This is an Ending~~~~~

Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed my detour from canon here. I wanted to write this story rather badly, mainly cause I wanted to set the stage for how far off canon I'll be heading.

Alright, responses to those I couldn't answer privately:

Fan of good writing: thank you so much! As to the pairing question, I answered it above because I had several people ask me that. I don't know yet what I'm going to do though. It's a bit early, considering that, while I do have a bit of Hogwarts written, Harry's still too young to do much in relation to romantic relationships. Thanks though! That alien oc is an interesting note and I'll take it under consideration!

helenwhogirl: Thank you for the review! As to the Doctor being able to understand parsletongue, I'll probably have to write it out to see how I want to do that, though I might make it a magical language he has to learn from Harry to be able to understand it. Thanks for the question! I enjoy questions, they make me think about future things!

Thank you all so much again! I'll have the next chapter up soon! Despite the vacation I'm being dragged on, I will have internet connection, so expect a chapter as soon as I pound out a couple thousand words on a future chapter of this story! (And, if I sit in front of the computer without distraction, that takes a few hours. The distraction part though will include my grandmother with her nitpicky ways and my mother who will be all aflutter about said nitpicky ways and me, in the middle, being complained at by both sides. O.O)

Sorry if you get multiple notices of this. I had to fix an error...O.O

Kuroi


	6. In Which Old Friends Say Hi

GUYS! HEY GUYS! I'M BACK! Ugh, the supposed internet in that hotel was, well, yeah, not. . And what's up with the changes on ffnet? O.O When did this happen?

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE AMAZING SUPPORT AND ALERTS AND REVIEWS AND MESSAGES! inkyfingers95, OMG YOU ARE AWESOME. Kira Kyuu, I HOPE THAT VID LINK WORKED FOR YOU! Everyone deserves to see End of Time, even if it is depressing. ^_^

As always, personal replies to reviewers I couldn't reply to vie PM are at the end.

Now, ENJOY! The moment some of you have been poking at me repeatedly for~ *nudge nudge* (Oh, and for the Torchwood Timeline, follows the events directly after Children of Earth)

~~~~~~~This is a Beginning~~~~~~

The world felt bright and endless and Harry was laughing on his hip as they headed back to the Tardis, alive and healthy and not dying. They had dropped off Wilf and the world was safe again and nothing was wrong in the Doctor's persona Universe. Well, nothing was immediately wrong. The Doctor opened the blue door and set Harry down as he closed it, watching Harry dash up the ramp to the chair.

Maybe it was time to introduce Harry to some of his old friends, those still around to remember him, in any case. Since he wasn't dying he wouldn't mind seeing some of those who had made this regeneration what it was.

"Harry, what do you say about meeting some old friends of mine?" Harry looked inquisitive.

"Old friends? Okay!" Harry climbed unsteadily onto his chair before buckling the belt with tiny hands. "Allonzee!" he shouted, and the Doctor laughed. Switches were flipped and spin, dials were turned. The TARDIS shook and rattled. "Who are we seeing?"

"A girl who once traveled with me named Martha and her husband, Mickey. Hold on!" They stopped moving, and the Doctor picked Harry up. "Alright, out we go…oh, Sontarans. Well, they certainly have a sense of adventure. Got that from me, they did. And not bad work. Nice unconscious little Sontarans. Clean up job, by the looks of it. Ah, there they are, Martha and Mickey. Hello!" The scene outside the TARDIS was of an old warehouse currently playing host to a couple unconscious, small, brown aliens in blue and grey suits. Two people were sitting beside a medical bag, though they were now looking around wildly. The Doctor waved at them, nudging Harry.

Harry was staring at the currently snoozing alien, frowning. Son…sontaran?" he sounded out. The Doctor smiled.

"Yep. And there's Martha and Mickey. Mickity Mick!" Harry turned to look where his dad was pointing.

Martha, her hair now in braids, and Mickey, sporting a mustache and a few bandages, turned in surprise. "Doctor! And…who is he? He's adorable." Martha approached at a run, slowing down and finally stopping in front of the coat-clad Time Lord. She reached out for Harry. "Can I hold him?"

"What do you say Harry. Can Martha Jones hold you?" Harry giggled.

"Martha! Hi Martha! I'm Harry!" He reached over for Martha and Harry transferred arms. "Daddy told me about you. Pretty hair." Martha turned wide eyes to the Doctor.

"Daddy? You had a kid? With who?" The Doctor blinked, then grinned.

"Nah, not mine by blood, but he was given to me. Raise and protect and all that. Hi Mickey. How ya doing? Didn't invite me to the wedding I see." Mickey looked significantly at Martha. She glared at him.

"We tried, yeah. We did! You just wouldn't answer your phone. I left UNIT too. Freelancers now. Work around England. Closer to the rift, 'specially after what happened to Torchwood and the 456's last month. Needed someone, really. So we do the clean-up and protection now." Martha cooed at Harry, who laughed and patted tiny hands on Martha's cheeks. The Doctor's expression darkened quickly.

"What happened last month to Torchwood?" Martha looked up in surprise.

"You never heard? Well, there was an invasion last month, using the children as mouthpieces. The government got it in their heads that Torchwood was somehow the cause, blew up the base. Jack was captured, but his team managed to get him out. The 456's made demands for a tenth of all the earth's children, demanded them. I don't know why, that stuff was so classified that the only people allowed to see it were those who were present when it happened. Not many left either, since most of them are in jail or dead. But Jack apparently did something rather drastic and they left. Still don't know who they were or where they were from. And with Torchwood gone we can't get any answers. Only one I know still alive aside from Jack is Gwen, and she's gone underground. Dunno where she is." The darkening expression on the Doctor's face made it rather clear that he was unhappy about the whole situation.

"You didn't know about it Doctor? I thought you knew every ow!" Martha stepped on Mickey's foot.

"Shut up idiot." Harry was still patting Martha's cheeks, but he wasn't laughing. He was looking at the Doctor and his eyes were wide.

"Martha, thank you. For everything. I…I'll try and come back sometime. If you need me, call me. I'll try to come. Alright, Harry, ready to go see Jack?" Martha handed Harry back.

The Doctor nodded to them both. "By Doctor. Try to make that visit sometime before I die, yeah?" The Doctor nodded. "And bring Harry!" Harry waved goodbye as they entered the TARDIS, and the couple stood and watched the TARDIS blink out of existence.

The Doctor was in a less cheerful mood than he had been in, and Jack was now on the top of his need to visit list. He tracked the Vortex Manipulator Jack always carried. A bar. Of course. Well, it was Jack's hunting ground. An Inter-galactic bar at that. The Doctor, still carrying Harry (he hadn't put him down) walked in, searching for the long grey coat Jack never seemed to be without. It was at the bar, the head above it staring morosely into a glass of something-with-way-too-much-alcohol.

He was sure that Jack would have punched him if Harry hadn't been on his hip the moment the Doctor touched his shoulder, Jack was that drunk. He was just looking for a fight. The presence of a small child seemed to hinder his need for pounding face in.

Then the blurry gaze cleared a bit. "Doctor? Is that you? Why do you have a kid with you?" Unfortunately, his words came out much less clearly than that, but that was what the Doctor gathered of the garbled sentence. He grasped an upper arm and dragged the compliant 51st century Time Agent out of the bar. The bartender looked grateful. As soon as he had dropped the drunken man inside the TARDIS, the Doctor returned to the bar.

"Hey there, sorry about him. Quick question, how long has he been here?" The bartender shook his head.

"In that seat? About half a revolution, twelve standard hours. At the bar? Three standard weeks. Been drinking most of it, when he isn't trying to pick up whatever happens to be next to him. Glad he's got a friend who isn't interested in what's under his jacket. I have heard just about every pick up line from every book in the galaxy, and some new ones, come out of his mouth. Take care of him, alright? He's a nice enough fellow, just a bit lost." The Doctor nodded.

"How much does he owe?" The bartender shook his head.

"He took care of that. Handed over an agency card, it works out." Well, one thing he didn't have to worry about. Now he just had an extremely drunk immortal man and a small child to look after. At least the former would be easy to leave in a bed until he slept off the alcohol and the hangover. The latter, though, would be easier to handle for a time than a depressed, angry human. Still, he wasn't leaving Jack to drink his life away and sleep with whatever walked past. Not when he could help him.

He shut the doors to the TARDIS, looking at the immortal slumped against the walls and Harry, who had found a marker (this one from the Narian Formation, and would turn different colors depending on the mood of the drawer. It was bright blue, curiosity and a tad bit of mischief at the green borders) and was drawing on Jack's face. The Doctor snickered.

"Well, Harry, what are we going to do with him?"

Harry held up the marker. "I'm drawing!" he said gleefully.

"I can see that. But we can't leave him against the wall. Bed then? Yeah, that sounds good." He bent to lift Jack. "Well, if he didn't have a good fifty on me, that might work." He strained, pulling Jack off the ground and staggering towards the hallways. "Alright, please old girl, please don't hide the bedroom from me. I don't think he would appreciate waking up on the floor. And I would definitely not appreciate waking up under him, despite his amusement at that situation." Harry giggled from his place on the deck. "Glad one of us is finding amusement in this."

"Ugh…am I getting lucky?" Jack muttered under his breath. The Doctor snorted and was sorely tempted to drop the infuriating mad right there.

"No. You're getting a bed until you sober up. Now help me. You're heavy." Jack listened to the voice before he registered who it was, then he started.

"Doctor….I didn't know…you cared….so much…." Jack fumbled over his feet, trying to place them solidly on the ground. He wasn't overtly successful, but his attempts at least lightened the load the Doctor was holding up.

"You're an idiot Captain Jack Harkness," the Doctor ground out, propelling them forward and towards the closest open door. It seemed the TARDIS had taken pity on him and had actually moved a room with a bed closer towards them. Nice of her.

Jack snorted. "Truth!" Ah, a bed! The Doctor set Jack rather roughly down on it, shoulders heaving.

"You're heavy," he complained loudly. Jack smiled and opened his mouth to make another lewd joke. "No, just shut up. And I am not helping whatever hangover you get." The Doctor turned to leave. A hand snagged his coat.

"Doc, ya think you could forgive me?" The tone was so broken the Doctor let the nickname slide. He crouched down by the bed.

"For what Jack? What do you need forgiving for?" A grimace.

"I didn't want to. I didn't. But they would have taken them all. All of them. And no one was doing anything. I had to." Jack's hand tightened around the Doctor's coat. "I had to….I had to…I had to…" Jack turned into his pillow, eyes squeezed shut. The Doctor sighed.

He had made the right decision, coming here then. Jack was clearly in no position to do anything less harmful than drink himself to death, and he would do that for ages if he wasn't snapped out of it.

Jack slumped into unconsciousness, hand slackening on the coat. The Doctor pulled away and left the ex-Time Agent to sleep off the alcohol. Straight answers would be had at a later date. For now, well, for now Jack would wake up with a horrid headache and a bad taste in his mouth.

Harry looked up at the Doctor as he walked into the console room. "Is Jack okay daddy?" The Doctor sighed.

"Probably Harry, probably. We'll see soon enough. Now, let's get you to bed. You've certainly been up a while now. Ah, yep, off to bed you go." Harry yawned widely.

"Not sleepy daddy," he protested weakly and the Doctor picked him up. "Not sleepy."

"Of course not. We'll just go rest our eyes a bit then." Harry nodded, eyes wide open in effort to keep them from drooping.

"'kay. Story though, right?"

The Doctor smiled. "Alright then. Story. How about one from Raxacoricolfalapatorias? Their life forms are all calcium based and one time, one of them tried to live with an acidic life form from Gorigalifus. That was an unpleasant reaction."

Harry's eyes drooped. "Raxacoracol…" his mouth fumbled over the long word. The Doctor laid him down in his bed, pulling the green blanket up. Harry grabbed the stuffed octopus stuffie and hugged it close, turning to look at his dad, who was pulling up a chair to tell the rest of the story.

The long brown coat was taken off and draped over the back of the chair and the tall, lean form folded itself in to sit. "Well, it was far away, approximately five thousand light-years, and about three hundred thousand years in the future, and the beings of Raxacoracolfalapatorias and Gorigalifus struck up a tentative treaty. They had always been somewhat wary of each other, seeing as they could destroy the other so easily, but eventually, the governments formed an alliance…" The Doctor told his tale to the steadily tiring Harry, watching as the lids dropped over the large green eyes and his breathing evened out. It didn't take long for him to fall into sleep, and the Doctor fell silent, looking over the child who had become quite the focus of his life.

Little Harry Potter. He never mentioned the last name anymore, leaving it behind with all its connotations and destiny. Harry didn't deserve that weight on his shoulders, not growing up. He would never deny the child his last name, but for now, Harry was content without it. The child he had taken from Albus Dumbledore not so long ago, having seen the power that he held and the ways the man would use it. He had lost faith in himself not long before, and when he had taken Harry without thinking the actions through, some small part of him hoped that the boy would give him something back in himself.

Harry had done that and so much more. He had given him something to focus on, to smile for, to laugh with, to teach. He hadn't done that in a while, teach, and Harry was a sponge for it. He learned things so rapidly, soaking it all up. Sure, a lot of the complicated stuff went over his head, the boy was just a toddler, but his memory was prodigious. And Harry always wanted to learn more, loved it. And he loved the Doctor. His dad. The person who hugged him and laughed with him and told him stories and took him to wonderful places. The Doctor found that he liked being called that again, hearing children's feet patter on the floor, laughter ringing out, and a smile all for him. And the title, Daddy, reverberating off the walls was good to hear again.

He stroked Harry's cheek once more, before rising from his chair and heading out the door, taking his coat. He didn't bother shutting the door, knowing Harry preferred it open. The TARDIS bleeped softly, and the Doctor sighed.

"Well, girl, now I have a drunk, depressed immortal as well as a small child on board. Let's see how we get on then, yeah?" The TARDIS pulsed. "And don't you go losing the Captain either. I'm sure you wouldn't want him rummaging around in some of those rooms causing havoc." Another pulse, amusement. "Ah, well, he'll be out for a while. Takes the body a while to metabolize that much alcohol, and if he was drinking for twelve hours, he's going to have one nasty headache when he wakes up. I don't envy him."

The Doctor punching in coordinated and set their destination for a nearby star formation. Just letting the TARDIS float out in space for a while. He could afford a nap.

He settled into one of the chairs and tipped his head back. He could really do with a nap. It had been a long, long day.

Jack felt what seemed to be a horde of stampeding elephants running across his brain and doing their damndest to stomp every last cell he possessed. He groaned. He had made a concentrated effort to overwhelm his regeneration system in getting drunk. It had worked, apparently. Now he was dealing with the aftermath.

At least he wasn't at the bar, face plastered to wood. But where the hell was he? Obviously a bed, if the horizontal position was any evidence, coupled with the pillow and sheets, but whose? No one was next to him, and his clothes were still on, so he hadn't hooked up. Damn, he couldn't remember the last….however long it had been since he had that fourth Artesian Mixer.

He tried to sit up, felt the world spin and stars dance across the room, before plopping his head back on the pillow and burying his face in it. Possibly the worst hangover ever, especially since he had fended off the last ones with more alcohol. He had been main lining alcohol for quite a while now, and it was catching up with him. He thrust a hand out, searching blindly for something, anything that would resemble a drink. Just a small one to take the edge off. He encountered a cup, something sloshing in it, and cheered mentally (quietly). He forced himself partially vertical, keeping his eyes closed as a compromise, then tipped back the glass, waiting for the bite of the alcohol to hit.

He barely kept from spitting it back out, whatever 'it' was. The only thing that made him swallow it was the immediate relief of the headache it caused. The elephants lessened to stampeding horses and the world didn't feel like it was spinning. He took another sip, gritting his teeth and bearing the taste. Nothing good ever comes from things that taste good. Now it was hammers, and he could deal with hammers.

Jack pushed to his feet and set the empty glass on the stool it came from, looking around the room he was in.

Plain was one way to describe it. Another would be blue, or empty, or small. The door was just a foot away, and the opposing wall was three feet. It was more like a bunker than anything. Still, it had a bed, a damn comfortable bed, and if Jack wasn't so keen on figuring out where he was, he would be more than willing to fall back into it and head into dream world again.

But the urge to find out what had given him the bed and the hangover remedy was stronger, and he managed to not stumble too badly as he headed out the door.

Into a long, twisty corridor. Lovely. Someone had a sense of humor. He pushed out into the walkway and picked a direction based on which way he swayed first. Left it is. Hands stabilizing him against the walls, he made a slow and unsteady path down and around the bends, almost into a pool (who the hell kept a pool next to a kiln? Who the hell had a kiln anymore? And was that a Alysiac Globe Spinner? He thought they had all been destroyed in the Second Galactic War!) and finally, finally, he almost met the floor of a kitchen with his face. A kitchen! Places that had water and bread and…and other things he couldn't think of.

He reached for the handle to an odd looking fridge (it has a smaller door near the floor, at baby height. And it seemed to have five storage areas. And seven handles, three dials and a lever. He couldn't begin to puzzle out what they were for this hungover) and failed miserably in his quest. He tried again.

"Ah, you're up! Lovely to see you conscious. It's been, what about three days now. You really had too much alcohol. From what I could tell, you drank nearly every possible mix in the galaxy. The Bartender was impressed."

Jack knew that voice. That lilting, almost British voice that he adored and oftentimes wished for constantly. That voice that belonged to the only person in the universe Jack Harkness ever listened to. Jack turned, eyes wide, hands, gripping the counter tight.

"Doctor?" The incredulity in his voice had the Doctor grinning. He looked just the same as the last time Jack saw him, same wide grin (well, it seemed happier now), same long, skinny limbs, same pointy, frazzled hair, same sparkling brown eyes (though they were definitely happier). The brown duster wasn't present, nor the pinstriped blue suit jacket. Instead, he was barefoot, wearing a long sleeved white shirt mostly buttoned (and with a strange, odd colored stain on the right shoulder), pinstriped pants and a tie haphazardly tied around his neck.

"Yep, me. Standing right here. Picked you up at the Horsehead Bar, drowning yourself in a Kriterion Cleaner. The bartender was relieved. He looked rather upset with you, and that guy does not get upset easily. Your alcohol system was starting to have too much blood in it by the time I got you back to the ship, though Harry was amused. Which, by the way, you still have…" The Doctor made a vague gesture around his face. "Ah, never mind. You got the hangover helper I left then. My own concoction. Rather proud of it, actually. Mixed it up after I had a few too many Gryon Shots and then had to go out and make sure the Fifth Galactic War didn't start because I left the TARDIS in a no-transport-zone. Those Judoon are very picky about where people leave their ships these days. It wasn't like I hadn't parked properly. It was just a minor error, a few feet into the Shadow Proclamation's territory, nothing too serious. Still, never upset a Judoon. Easiest way to get vaporized."

Jack stood stock still, letting the inane babble he had come to both love and find exasperating rush over him, grounding him in a way that all the alcohol he had drank couldn't. Just the Doctor's presence, soothing and chaotic, calmed him, brought his mind trudging out of the depression it had sunk into since the 456's. He smiled.

"God, I've missed that. You have no idea how much I've missed hearing you talk," he breathed. The Doctor blinked, then smiled widely.

"Well, then, you'll love Harry. He'll talk your ear off. Probably start that rhyme of his again, show you his planets, make you work on drawing wars, drag you to the pool (how he finds it every time, I don't know), the library, the playground. Then he'll pester you for stories. It'll be rather adorable, I imagine. Hope you're good with kids though."

Jack blinked. "You had a kid?" The Doctor laughed.

"Oh, no, nothing so drastic. I just sorta picked one up along the way. He's mine now though, for all intents and purposes. Come along. Oh, wait, he's still asleep. Well, then, I guess you have time for something else. Oh, right, food. I imagine that the alcohol didn't help your digestive system any, even with your ability to heal. And it doesn't replace food at all. I'm surprised you didn't pick up any diseases, considering how many people you slept with, though I guess people might not be the right term. The bartender said you slept with anyone who would look at you twice. Knowing you, well, I don't want to guess. Anyway, yes, food. Hold on a tick, there's something around here. Always is, seeing as Harry's still trying things. Should be some pasta here…ah yes, good strong creamy stuff. Straight from Italia. The planet, not the country. Best place to find pasta. They even managed to figure out how to grow pasta in crops. Brilliant! Favorite place for food in the Galaxy, well, after that Planet that makes everything out of banana, well, maybe third favorite….anyway, not the point. Ah-ha! Here it is!" The Doctor scrambled back out of the fridge (he had been halfway in). Jack was still not fully functioning and had a hard time keeping up with the quick and erratic movements of the Doctor.

A plate (some plastic-thing with several divisions and swirly patterns that kept shifting) was spun in front of him, food was placed on the plate and quickly heated up and a fork was presented to the still overwhelmed Jack. "Um…thanks. Have any water?" He was almost immediately handed a glass of the clear liquid. "Thanks…" Another blindingly bright smile was aimed at him. His head pounded.

"You want to eat that in here or sit down? There's a table near the console and Harry should be waking up soon. Come on then." The Doctor had a steaming mug of tea in one hand, from where he got it Jack didn't know, but he followed dutifully, plate in one hand and cup in another.

The console room was just through the door and the aforementioned table was pulled out of a nearby closet (that was new.) Several papers, crayons and markers were scattered throughout the room off to the side, along with shoes and books. Small shoes, very small shoes. And crumpled piles of pictures in a corner. Jack blinked. Just how young was this kid the Doctor had picked up?

"AH, here we go! Oh, wait, chairs! We need chairs!" He dashed back out, dragging two fold up chairs Jack remembered seeing in conference halls out with him. "Handy things, these. No mess, no button pushing, all clean and easy, not bad on space. Now, sit. I'm sure the world hasn't quite stopped spinning." Jack stumbled his way to the makeshift dining area and sat heavily on the chair. He hadn't expected the hangover to last this long. His healing abilities should have kicked in by now.

"Why does my head hurt still?" The cool metal of the table felt good on his forehead. The hammers were still insistently pounding away at his skull. "It shouldn't hurt so much." His voice was a little raspier than he remembered it being. The Doctor's laughter was not helping.

"I'm sure if you hadn't nearly replaced your blood system with alcohol, your head wouldn't be hurting and you wouldn't be drunk anymore. However, the only reason you're even still alive is due to the metabolizing rate of your systems and your ability to process toxins. Your liver was all moon dust when I got you, but it should have healed by now. You'll start to feel better soon." The Doctor leaned back. "Why were you doing your best to drown yourself in a bar anyway?"

Jack raised his head to look at the man (was he a man? Ah well, who cares) leaning pensively in his chair. Hands were folded on knees and the tea sat on the table, cooling. The steam rising from the cup framed the narrow, lean face. Jack turned back towards the table. The hammers weren't as loud, as if he didn't have to look at the Doctor's face when he told him, well, he would actually able to get through it. Maybe.

"It started decades before the…the children. The '60's. They contacted us, never gave us a name, but the frequency they used, 456, became the name we called them. They demanded 12 children to be brought to a specific spot in the country side and they threatened to kill every human on the planet if we wouldn't. The government sanctioned it, a secret sect of it, and twelve orphans vanished that year. We thought it was over. Nothing happened for years and that particular frequency was never heard again." Jack closed his eyes, feeling the guilt he pushed all those years ago well up again. "I tried to forget about them, those kids, but I never could. What I sent them to, what happened to them, if it could have been done any other way." He balled his hands up, the material in his pants bunching up in his palms. The Doctor merely 'hmmmd' across from him.

Jack gathered his thoughts, sorting them. "Then, the kids all stopped, everywhere at the same time, all over the world. Then it happened again, and this time they all spoke, every single one of them. "They are coming". In English, even in China and India. The governments were in an uproar. Then again, and again. Over and over with more demands. They used the 456 frequency, they were back. And part of the people that were in the '60's conspiracy knew who I was. They planted a bomb in me, and blew Torchwood operations up. When I woke up, healing and chained to a wall, they buried me in concrete. My team, what was left of them, Ianto and Gwen, got me out and we ran.

"An old man was a survivor of the abduction in the '60's, and he knew me, remembered me. And we used him and another girl to get into the building the 456's were making their demands from. Eventually we got in. But they killed the man for helping. God, Doctor, they demanded children. Millions of them. 10 prcent of the world's population, then ten percent of every country's. The government was cracking, children were being gathered for transport and Ianto died with the rest of the government officials in the room. Gwen was running with children, and my daughter had come to me with her son, knowing I would keep them from danger."

Jack felt the tears at the corner of his eyes. The silence across the table was almost worse than the Doctor reprimanding or asking questions. He gritted his teeth. "They were keeping us in a warehouse, with a scientist. I was desperate and he knew a possibility to end this. But it needed a child. The 456's communicated through the children, it was the only way to communicate or stop them. I had to. I couldn't….not again. No….my…my daughter wasn't there. They had taken her somewhere else. I had time before she came back….god, I had to, I had to…" Jack shut his eyes against the flood he knew was waiting for the opportunity.

"You used your grandson. Resonated the frequency back through him and killed or disabled them." Jack's silence was answer enough. "And it killed him, channeling the energy required to convert that much power into a frequency through children. The 456 did it by spreading the energy over the world. Using one child to do the work, he couldn't handle it. His brain fried." Jack nodded against the table. "Well, that certainly explains the alcohol."

Jack nearly gave himself whiplash as he jerked upright to look at the Doctor. There wasn't any revulsion or disgust evident. Horror, yes, at the corners of his eyes, the turn of his mouth. Shock, despair, sadness. But no evidence of blame or hate. "I….I…I was trying to forget. All of it. I ran, Doctor. I ran from the last member of Torchwood on an alien cargo ship and came to the nearest bar. I killed my own grandson. I sacrificed him. His mother, his mother hates me, she could barely look at me. I don't blame her." Jack stared at his untouched plate of paste. The Doctor leaned forward, picking up the mug of cooled tea.

Silence filled the room for a few minutes as the Doctor drank his tea and Jack scrutinized the pasta. "What was the alternative? If you hadn't used your grandson. What would have happened?" The immortal blinked, taken aback. Then he turned pensive.

"The government would have given them millions of children they would have used as a drug for the 456. A drug. They used them to get high! The government….they were too scared of the alternative. Otherwise, we would have died. All of us." Jack paused. "But I used my own grandchild."

"Would you have asked someone else to give their child up for it?" The immediate and reassuring response was a resounding 'No'. "Then you have your answer Jack. You'll hate yourself for a long time for doing it, but you'll either have to come to terms with it without the alcohol or spend the rest of your life drowned in some fermented substance or other and see how much your regenerating process can take. And I can tell you that the second choice is not the fun one, even if it is the easiest." The Doctor downed half the tea, eyes distant. "I spent the better part of a century after the Time War getting into as many dangerous situations as possible in the hope that it all might catch up with me. Not the best way to live, I can tell you that."

Jack slowly picked up the fork and started pushing the pasta around on the plate. He had drowned in alcohol for a reason. But he also couldn't remember the past few weeks clearly. He had done a spectacular job overcharging his regenerative abilities. The groan he let out pulled a smile over the Doctor's face. Clearly he understood the sentiment.

The silence would have pervaded if not disturbed by the sound of tiny feet pattering in the hallway, hands on the staircase and the sight of a small head covered in black hair peeking up over the top of the stair case. It was followed by the rest of the child.

"Daddy, I'm hungry," a high, childish voice stated, enunciation not quite clear. Jack blinked. How old was the kid? "Oh, Jack-jack's awake. Hi! I'm Harry." Harry turned bright green eyes to look at Jack, then he giggled. "Still got the scribbles!" Harry padded over to the Doctor, who picked him up and sat him on his lap.

"Hello Harry. How did you sleep?" Harry rubbed the sleepy sand out of his eyes.

"Good." Harry smiled. "Jack still has the scribbles," he stated again, giggled outrageously. The Doctor smiled and nodded.

Jack, the subject of Harry's amusement, was sitting stock still and staring at the child, eyes wide. The kid was tiny, and verbal. Very verbal. He couldn't be more than two, but he seemed like he was much older. And the Doctor….Jack hadn't seen the Time Lord that happy in….in ever, really. Not since before Rose vanished, and even then his eyes didn't light up the same. He seemed genuinely happy, glowingly happy. He exuded the damn emotion.

Then Harry's words hit him. "Scribbles? What scribbles?" He looked intently at the pair across the table. The Doctor was smothering chuckles and Harry was giggling unrepentantly.

"Scribbles! Jack was asleep." This last bit was said matter of factly. Jack blinked.

"I did try to tell you, but it wasn't important." The Doctor gestured at his face again, and Jack seemed to get the message (now that he had been informed of the state of it by a small boy). He stood up to go find a mirror, then sat heavily back down. The world spinning was not the best way to go look for a reflective surface.

"Damn…" The look he was leveled with from the Doctor stopped him from finishing that phrase. "Ergh…what exactly is on my face?"

Now the chuckles returned. The Doctor looked across at the hung over immortal, eyes wide in innocence. Jack's face was a wonderful scribble of color, now purple and sparkling as Harry giggled in his lap. The lines of color didn't form any picture, merely tracing and connecting random points on the handsome face. Circles around the eyes and fanning out from his nose. Some swirls decorated his cheeks and forehead and random lines found their way around Jacks mouth. In fact, if the Doctor looked closely….

"Harry, did you trace the orbit of the Germanian Galaxy on his cheek?"

"Uh-huh. And Koral on his forehead." Harry took an amount of pride in this feat. Jack blinked, trying to figure out what they were talking about. Orbits of galaxies?

"Wait, you drew these on me? How old are you?" No way a kids could draw those. Then again, the kid was also living with the Doctor, on the TARDIS. That gave some leeway as to what said kid could do. But still…

"I dunno. Two?" Harry looked to the Doctor for confirmation.

"He's about two, give or take. Time's relative, and age even more so. Especially when you live here. But two is about right." Harry nodded. "And before you ask, yes, he knows a lot about the Universe. Memorized as much as he could. It's rather brilliant."

Jack just sat there, staring. "He drew orbits of galaxies on my face….he drew on my face…while I was passed out…" alright, so there was a little bit of karma coming back to bite him. "Where's a mirror?"

The Doctor gestured towards the kitchen. "Should be a bathroom on the right as soon as you head back to the hallway. If you can't find it, yell. I'll come help." Harry climbed down off the Doctor's lap and took Jack's chair as he stood up slowly. The untouched pasta the captain had been pushing around on his swirling plate was gleefully eaten by the boy. Jack made his way towards the supposed bathroom and found the mirror.

His face was pale under the marker scribbles, with dark shadows under his eyes. Brown hair stood on end (it had grown in the weeks he had drunk himself into a stupor. He hadn't bothered cutting it). The marker though….it did form patterns. The circles and swirls that made up quite a bit of the skin were blue, sparkling just a bit. As he watched, the color changed, turning purple, then pink. Odd markers…Jack snatched a towel off the wall and busied himself with wiping the marker off. Except that it wasn't coming off. Not easily. Bits of the drawing were rubbed away and other bits stayed, despite Jack turning his skin red from rubbing.

Ah well, it was only marker.

He turned to look at the rest of the bathroom. It was large, with a huge tub and a shower off to the side. The tub had several different faucets, knobs and buttons, something Jack would inspect later. Now, now he needed a shower. He couldn't remember the last time he had one, though he couldn't remember the last five days all too clearly either. Then he shucked his clothes and made sure soap was in the right places before stepping into the enclosed space and turning the water on. The spray from the five heads made him sigh. This was nice.

Eventually Jack made his way back into the console room, dressed in loose pants and a white shirt he had found in a nearby closet. The pants were too small, fluttering at the back of his calves, but the shirt fit fine.

Harry and the Doctor were ensconced at the table still, Harry waving his hands and babbling something, the Doctor listening closely, nodding and smiling. The Doctor glanced up as he entered the room.

"Ah, Jack, good to see you looking…less colorful. And you found the shower! I was just gonna suggest that. You were starting to sweat alcohol. You clothes….well, I'm sure there's dry cleaning in here somewhere. Or something to the equivalent. Anyway, we were just talking about where to go. Or, well, Harry was. Come join us then."

And with that, Captain Jack Harkness found his way into the TARDIS and the small family that was just starting to grow there.

Harry and Jack got on amazingly well. The TARDIS had grumbled at first, seeing as Jack was something she was still having issues with (though she didn't try to go to the end of the universe to shake him off). Eventually though, she warmed up to him. It helped, knowing that he had saved her from becoming a paradox machine (or, well, he helped fix her so she would never become one….).

The Doctor, long having gotten over his instinctive reaction to shudder at Jack's factual presence, helped the still somewhat depressed immortal find his footing in the universe. They would sit at the table, or in the garden, or by the pool, or anywhere, and just talk. Or sit in silence, or play games. They helped each other in many ways, and eventually, Jack just ended up fitting so nicely into the dynamic that he just never left.

It also helped that he was a second pair of eyes and hands to watch over Harry. The kid was growing in leaps and bounds.

Still, the first time Jack saw Harry conjure his solar system to play with, giggling and twirling planets around in impossible ways, it was only because of his extensive experience with aliens in general that he didn't flip out. Instead, he sat and had Harry excitedly explain what he was doing. Then, later (after a hair raising adventure through a bunch of pipes and tubing on what appeared to be a planet made for hamsters) after Harry had fallen and bumped his head, Jack's hair turned a shocking pink for a few hours. The amusement on the Doctor's face as he held an ice pack to Harry's head (he had lost the medical bay years ago and hadn't been able to find it yet. The freezer generously supplied ice packs and the cabinet had child appropriate medication for the swelling) more than made up for the rather alarming shade Jack's hair had turned.

Unfortunately, as things are wont to turn dangerous around the Doctor, their adventures didn't remain strictly fun and happy for long. Harry was almost halfway to three when a race of almost-humanoids that the Doctor hoped never to see again grasped the TARDIS and pulled it to their planet. The ensuing chaos would leave an indelible mark on all three of them, and the race, well, they wouldn't ever mess with the Time Lord again. The amount of work it took them to repair the foundations of their society after he left wasn't worth the effort.

~~~~~~This is an Ending~~~~~

And scene. Well, a set up for one of my personal favorite adventures. I hope that last paragraph didn't throw you all off too badly. And I do have some side stories planned with little Harry and Jack. ^_^ When they get written, I'll make sure I post a notice in whatever chapter it is. ^_^

I hope Jack's introduction lived up to some people's expectations. And I really hope you know Torchwood to some extent. Otherwise some of the events that I described won't make as much sense.

Review Replies:

helenwhogirl: I am glad Harry's first adventure was such a ringer with you! And i too had a hard time imagining Eleven's recklessness with a child. Which is a real reason why I chose to keep Ten. Eleven is terrifyingly unable to assess danger properly and with a child...that scares me. A lot.

THank you so much again you guys! All the reviews and alerts and favorites and everything! You all make my day so hardcore! Thank you! Drop me a reviews, let me know what you all think, I love hearing opinions and questions and concerns. ^_^

Kuroi


	7. In Which Danger Arrives for Harry

Hey guys! This is the final, complete, hopefully as spelling-error-free as possible version of the Olympians. Thank you all for your amazing feedback on that separate version I put up! The next chapter should be up within the next half hour. Thank you!

~~~~~~This is a Beginning~~~~~

"This is not good, this is not good. This is very bad. Very very bad!" The Doctor was racing around the console room, flipping switches, turning knobs and behaving in a generally manic way. Jack was holding Harry, who was tracking the Doctor with big green eyes.

"Bad daddy? What's bad?" The Doctor looked over at the two of them.

"They've got us. Pulling us in. They've tied in an electromagnetic field into the TARDIS mainframe matrix. Hold on tight!" The Doctor's long fingers wrapped tightly around a bar. He braced himself. The TARDIS shook and rattled, then slammed into ground with a groan. The column pulsed unhappily.

Jack, Harry and the Doctor stood up, shaking ringing ears and wondering what had happened, or Jack was. The Doctor knew and Harry couldn't really care. He was more interested in where they had landed. Jack looked over at the Doctor.

"What happened?"

"The TARDIS hit a bump in the time vortex, apparently too close to the planet Olympus. Zeus has been angry with me since that incident several millennia ago and, well, yeah. This is not good. This is very not good."

Jack blinked. "Zeus? As in Greek god Zeus? Isn't he a myth?"

"No, no, not that Zeus. Different race. The Olympians. Arrogant beings, what the Immortals based their hierarchy on in Greece. The Olympians see themselves as higher beings, better than every other race. Prometheus, yes, the one from the myth but not the same one, was chained to a mountain for bringing life to the Universe. In freeing him, the Olympians caught me. They are not friendly, not at all, and if they've managed to pull me here again, I don't want to know why." He raced around the dashboard, but the TARDIS wouldn't respond. She was unmoving, inert. The Doctor kicked the dashboard.

"Wait, you're saying that there really were Greek gods?"

"The Immortals. A sub-species of humans who advanced tremendously. Modeled themselves off of the Olympians. Used to be rulers of ancient earth. They've all either vanished or gone into hiding by the 20th century. Work!"

Jack and Harry watched with wide eyes as the Doctor tried various combinations of different knobs and buttons, trying to get some reaction. Nothing worked, the TARDIS remained stationary.

The tall, thin man collapsed into a chair, sighing. "I really didn't want to come back here. This is really not good at all." He turned to look at Jack, eyes wide. "Very bad…where's Harry?"

Jack started and looked around. The TARDIS door was open. "I don't know. Outside?"

The Doctor leapt to his feet. "No, not good at all. Come on, out we go. I didn't want to do this today." And, grabbing his long brown duster, the Doctor raced outside. Jack followed, pulling his own jacket after him.

They arrived in time to see the small form of Harry being picked up by a man with wings on his helmet and sandals. An all too handsome face looked over at them, before they were waved at and the man sped away, over the treetops and into the distance.

"Harry! Bring him back! Damn you, bring him back! He's just a child!" The Doctor ran towards the white tops of buildings in the distance. Jack stood in shock as the Doctor released a string of obscenities in various languages (he didn't know those last four). Harry. They had taken little Harry, with his bright smiles and laughs. He narrowed his eyes.

"Doctor, where would they take him?" The low, deadly tone in Jack's voice had the Time Lord turning towards him, eyes wide.

"Wha?"

"Harry. Where would they take Harry?"

"Well, to Asclepius and Paean, most likely, after being brought to Zeus first. His oddities would…push them to research him, learn things about him. Asclepius and Paean are those who look after medicine." The Doctor was wide eyed, fury still evident on his face, but now that he wasn't shouting at the empty sky and his cooler head was prevailing, he was thinking.

"What will they do?"

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "They won't kill him. Children are valued, but that doesn't mean they won't study him. I can't pinpoint the year here, but it is long after my first visit, and since the Olympians cannot be killed, if Zeus knows of Harry, then he knows what he means to me. This is a punishment of sorts." The Doctor's eyes hardened. "One that will work if we can't get to Harry."

The Doctor pulled Jack back into the TARDIS. "And I can't storm the city with just a sonic screwdriver. Their technology is more advanced and they have power, they manipulate various energies. Hold this." A box was thrust into Jack's hand, quickly followed by another box, a book, some papers, a bag and a few things Jack didn't recognize.

"What can they do Doctor?" Jack set the things he had been holding to the side. Brown eyes flashed up at him.

"They manipulate various energy wavelengths into different frequencies. This allows them to create a varied spectrum of effects based solely on their own personal whims and personalities. The few I met were Zeus, Hephaestus and Asclepius and they follow the Greek mythology rather closely, with various results. Zeus, I recall, was able to grow to huge proportions to strike down enemies with lightning and Hephaestus was a genius inventor. Asclepius….that is a man in whose hand a scalpel is a paintbrush."

"What are you going to do?" Jack sat heavily down on the grated floor. The Doctor kept moving from panel to panel, pulling each up with controlled rage.

"I'm going to remind them why the Time Lords ruled for a billion years and why they were wiped out." The Doctor shoved a few more things into his expansive pockets. "And if they've hurt Harry…" The Time Lord rose to his feet, eyes glowing dangerously. Jack didn't need the rest of that sentence to know what the Doctor would do. He shivered. The last time he had seen the Time Lord angry had been with the Master, and that anger…it had nothing on the rage flashing across his face now. Jack was sufficiently convinced that they could get to the city.

The Doctor dropped down into a flooring panel and started going through a stack of books. "AH-hah! Here it is!" A large, musty tome was dropped onto the floor and the Doctor clambered out of the flooring and replaced the fittings. The book was swiftly opened and scanned through. Jack peered curiously over the Doctor's shoulder, wondering why now was a good time for some light reading, and, strangely, why he couldn't read the language on the page.

"What is that Doctor?" His tone was full of impatience. Fingers wiggled.

"This, Jack, is a list of various Olympians that I requisitioned years ago on an old Library Planet. Dunno how it got off Olympus but it holds valuable knowledge. Written in an old form of the First Language. Sorry, yeah, the TARDIS can't translate it. Now, just sit tight a moment. I need to look a few things up." Jack stood and fidgeted a bit more, but the rage the flitted under the Doctor's now calm mask was enough to soothe his own potent anger.

Harry. Bright, sparkling, happy Harry. They had him. They had taken him, and they were doing who-knows-what to him. Jack felt his own anger resurface, not at burningly strong as the Time Lord's fury (though few could match him for emotional levels) but it raced through his veins with a vengeance.

Jack watched the Doctor as he slammed the heavy, thick and dusty book shut before he dashed through the side door, feet echoing back. He was slightly bewildered. What in the Universe could the Doctor possibly have that could do any kind of damage to an immortal race of beings that hated him and could pull the TARDIS out of the time vortex? Then again, he would put very little past the Doctor when he was angry. Things just never tended to work out well for whomever that anger was directed at.

"So, Doctor, what's the plan?"

Brown eyes seared into him as their owner rushed towards the door, one hand shoving something into a pocket. "Remind them why I'm the last Time Lord left in this Universe and get Harry back."

Jack raced after him. If there was any small mote of pity in him, none of it was for the Olympians. They had taken smiling, laughing, shining Harry. He was so going to be there when the Doctor did whatever he was going to do to them.

~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~~

Harry had grown used to opening the TARDIS doors the moment they had set down and wandering outside to see where they were. It had never been an issue before, considering his dad had been right behind him, usually tugging him back for forgotten shoes or a jacket.

Now though, he was starting to think that he should have waited.

The winged man (not like the wings on butterflies or birds. Wings on shoes and his hat!) had picked him up without asking, sweeping him into the air and leaving without letting him speak. He had been, inadvertently, silenced. He was not enjoying the situation. He gestured angrily at the man, hands flailing, and brightly colored balls appeared and peppered the man's narrow face. He got blinked at.

"Ah, aren't you a talented one! Haven't seen skill like that before! Zeus is going to love you." The tone of voice was too happy for Harry's stunt to have affected him. Harry was frustrated.

The ground below was speeding past, all sorts of animals running through the forest or flitting through the trees. No people though, none at all. But the city ahead, the white columns and roofs glinting in the sunlight, rapidly approaching, it would have people. People he could ask to take him back to his dad. People who would be nicer than this man who flew.

He didn't dare struggle though, knowing that he really didn't want to be dropped. Instead, he turned to look at his kidnapper.

He wished he could speak, ask for a name, ask to be taken back to his home and to his dad and uncle. Ask anything. But his voice seemed to have left him permanently. He pouted, and the white city rushed into being underneath them. People didn't look all that interested in their flight, though a few pointed up and shouted at them. The man said nothing though, determined and single-minded. They were rushing towards what looked to be a giant temple, soaring over the masses and straight in through the columns. The winged man gently touched down, outside a set of large, marble doors.

He gestured at two men in white and they bowed solemnly, before pressing a series of buttons. The doors opened with a soft hiss of escaping air. The man carried Harry into the expansive hallway and towards a raised dais.

Harry didn't think his eyes could get any bigger. The room was huge, bigger than anything he had seen in the TARDIS. White columns reached higher than Harry could see clearly, with ivy wreath patterns etched all the way up. Symbols, strange and unknown, wrapped in spirals as high as Harry could see. And it was all white. Ivory-white, pure white, lots of white. It was starting to hurt his eyes.

Then he was abruptly facing the floor. The man holding him was kneeling, and Harry was forced to do the same.

"My Lord Zeus. The child you wished for is here." And then Harry was facing a man who, despite the slight appearance of old age, was radiating charisma. Bright blue eyes, sharp and glinting, swept over Harry's small body. Hands, long fingered and slightly chapped rant through a well kept beard. A perfect mouth turned thoughtful.

"That infernal Doctor's child, yes? The one we could sense through the Time Vortex itself? Ah, I can see it now. Your blood holds what remains of the Eternals on this plane, yet it is…different somehow. As if it were warped. Tell me Hermes, has he done anything strange?"

Hermes chuckled. "Yes, Zeus. He summoned colorful balls that proceeded to throw themselves at me. I silenced him, unsure of his abilities. It seems as if he doesn't need to speak to use them."

Zeus's eyes widened imperceptibly. "Summoned, you say. That is interesting….tell me, child, what is your name?" Harry felt the bonds holding his voice back release, and he immediately refused to answer the question.

"Where is daddy? I want to go back! Take me back!" Harry struggled out of Hermes' arms and onto his own feet, glaring with all the might a small child could muster. "You're not nice. I want to go back home."

"Child, answer my question. What is your name? I care not for your home and your father will get his due punishment for defiance. What is your name?"

Harry shut his mouth stubbornly and shook his head. "No. You're not nice. I don't like you." And he turned around.

Hermes was in silent awe of the boy. Few dared defy Zeus at any age. The Olympian commanded power.

"I will have your name boy. Tell me your name!" The roar of Zeus shook the compound, echoing in the rafters and causing those in the room to wince and cover their ears. Harry stood still, eyes wide, face pale, mouth clamped shut. He shook his head, hair flopping. Fear kept him from opening his mouth now.

Zeus growled low in his throat and swirled a bit of electricity between his fingers. It coalesced into a ball, bounding from joint to joint, then, with a swiftness no one was expecting, Zeus thrust the lightning at the child. It arced from his fingertips, coating Harry in white and blue.

Harry screamed. It hurt, pinpricks of electricity zapping and stinging his skin. Hermes turned wide eyes up at Zeus.

"Sir…he's just a child. You don't have to…" Zeus glared.

"It is harmless. Merely a bit of overcharged static with some kick. He will be fine." The voice was dismissive. "Get him up; send him to Asclepius and Paean. I want to know what he is, how he works, everything." Hermes hesitated a second. "Now." The finality of that voice had Hermes scampering towards the boy, who was quietly crying on the floor, and towards a set of small, open doors.

He dare not disobey Zeus. Not if he wanted to keep his limbs functioning.

~~~~~~This is a line Break~~~~~~~

"Ah, such a specimen we have here today. Still in the formative stages I see. And such strange energy, power. It wraps around him….a type of security I imagine. We shall have to disable this, Paean, if we wish to follow our instructions." A long, bony fingered hand reached towards Harry, and a sizzling filled the air. A gleeful squeal of joy. "Yes, yes, this is wonderful. Paean, send for Hecate. The old witch will be able to assist. I am….quite…eager to work on this one."

A thin mousy man in a white toga scurried out of the room. Asclepius laughed madly.

Asclepius was tall, broad shouldered and whippy. His arms were corded with muscle but it was knotted and bunched, lending an odd and strange look to him. His neck was thin but strong, supporting a face that would have been handsome if it wasn't twisted into a smile fit for the insane. Eyes, a deep, dark green, swallowed you in and would eat you alive if given the chance.

His toga had a staff entwined by serpents and topped with leaves splayed across the chest, held closed with a silver cord. He tugged on it impatiently as his eyes roved the small boy lying motionless on the marble table. Another mad smile stretched across his face. Zeus had really given him something interesting this time. Ever since that Doctor, nothing else was ever interesting again. That man…if he had managed to actually get him on the table, work on him, and research him, the things he would have discovered...

Time Lords held their secrets close to them, even when they did roam the universe. Now, locked away in an endless battle, their secrets were held even tighter, locked even beyond the reach of the Olympians. Except for one. One brilliant, mad Time Lord was still running loose, and Asclepius almost had him.

Now he had a boy who was part Eternal, part human and something so completely different. This was worth every little bit of time spent on tiring over those useless little things that crash landed on Olympus or were pulled in for entertainments purpose. He rubbed his hands with relish.

"Ah, Asclepius, how horrid to see you so excited today. Your little slave said you had something interesting. I do hope you aren't just wasting my time with your usual dribble." The drawling, mocking voice seeped through the air like poison, dripping softly into ears and into the mind. Asclepius grinned.

"Ah, Hecate, you old horrid bat, would I be so cruel as to call you unnecessarily?"

"Yes. You would." Hecate was the picture of classic beauty, statuesquely beautiful and with skin as dark as night. Red eyes peered from under heavy lashes and a purple scarf was draped over her shoulders. Her toga was rich plum and fell to the floor, tied together with red-gold. Her fingernails were long and pointed and red, making a statement every time she gestured. Her mouth was twisted into a smirk.

"Well, vision of nightmares, I have been given a specimen of such interest that I decided you would be the best one to…appreciate such intrigue." Asclepius moved and gestured the woman over, clearly delighted. "Look at him, look at him closely. Can you see it?"

Hecate stepped lightly over, eyes narrowed and face pensive, bending close to the child's body. "It would seem as if…he had power, wrapped around him. Every inch covered. Remarkable. This is interesting indeed. Let me see, what would cause that…." Her hands ran along a sizzling, smoking barrier, sensing, touching, tasting, before she jerked back, eyes wide. "He is part Eternal. He has their power in his veins. But he is human, his features, his core, is human…how is that…" She turned to Asclepius. "Let me help. I need to know more. The Eternals were never able to be studied. They never cared enough to venture out. This human is the last of them, last of what is left of their race on this plane. Let me help, please." Her eyes were wide and pleading.

Asclepius cheered silently, knowing now that he had her. Hecate was never the easiest of them to convince to do anything; she had to decide or she would do what was contrary just to irritate you.

"My vile, vicious vermin, of course. How could I not when you ask so nicely." He clapped his hands. "But first is first, this barrier. Can you remove it or destroy it or disengage it?" The glare he received from the witch was one that said she knew he had tricked her, but she didn't say anything. This was too enticing a project to abandon just because of a small trickery.

She leaned back over Harry's inert form, tapping, prodding, poking and generally agitating the shield that had wrapped itself around the small body. "Just give me a bit of space. This is unusual power. I have to take it slow or I might be fried." Asclepius took a step back, making sure he would be out of the possible blast radius. Hecate sent a wicked grin over her shoulder. "And don't think you're safe because you're behind me. This power will wipe out your existence too." Asclepius just hoped she didn't decide to mess with it on purpose, to destroy him. That would be…unpleasant.

Thin, lavishly covered fingers began to twirl and spin through the air, dancing around the sparking, warning barrier. Swirls of mist followed in their wake, settling over the figure of the child and dampening the power to something that would remain harmlessly within the body. Hecate smirked.

"You'll have about 48 hours until his power is strong enough to break the dampening I placed on him. I would recommend leaving anything you want to do to his own innate power to me though, as I am unsure of the…consequences your actions might provoke. The child's strength is formidable. It would be….unfortunate for your essence to be blown to the wind due to a mere probe." Her wicked grin conveyed how amusing she would find this happenstance, should it happen. Asclepius decided to leave the prodding of the child's power to the witch-goddess. She would most likely survive such a happening.

Now, as the power was contained, Asclepius drew near, peering at the boy with avid interest, now able to touch and measure the body.

He was small, very small, not yet two feet in length. His frame still carried remnants of his time in babyhood, the fat lingering on his cheeks and legs. His body was starting to lean out to imply the slender figure he would have as he grew older, but childhood still made sure he was insulated properly. Asclepius opened one eye with his fingers, peering at the orb within.

"Great Skies above, these eyes. They are magnificent. Such color and vivacity. Have you ever seen such a green, crone?" Hecate peered over Asclepius's shoulder, before shaking her head.

"Not a natural green, are they? Something changed them. Almost emerald, but they glow too bright. It is intriguing."

"His mind must be something else…I must examine it. His power has changed so much about him, but he's still so young, young enough to work on. His whole structure is still malleable, still forming. Ah, he's coming around. Horrid hag, if you would be so kind as to Silence him. I can restrain him thank you for the offer. Ah, there you are green eyes. Such a treat to finally meet you."

Asclepius and Hecate peered at each other over Harry's prone form. Harry opened his mouth and screamed. If he had been able to make a sound, it would have been terrifying.

~~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~~

The white city that was the only structure on Olympus gleamed in the sunlight as Jack and the Doctor drew nearer. Arches and columns speared the sky, arching gracefully over the landscape and making a pointedly imperious statement as to the identities of those who lived beneath them. And were those _flying_ chariots? Jack shook his head. The technology was astounding…the artistry was stuck in ancient Greek. Or, well, Ancient Greek architecture was decidedly Olympian. Whatever.

The gates, large metal behemoths that barred their entrance, barely stopped the Doctor's inevitable forward movement, and the guards barely had time to collect themselves as they found the doors swinging open. The shouting that followed them was amusing, and Jack would have stopped to savor it if their mission hadn't been of dire importance. The Doctor had yet to speak as they marched onward, meeting no resistance on their way. Then again, it was just inside the gate. People rarely mingled just inside the gate.

"Doctor, it has been awhile. And you bring such lovely darkness with. The chaos exudes from your pores. It is magnificent." The voice was silky and sensual and full of ill-tidings. It made Jack shiver. Its owner was a tall, lean woman with hair twisted up in an intricate knot, snaky black tendrils creeping over her bare right shoulder. A white dress was tied to her frame with a silk, shimmering tie whose color was a mystery. Jack had to tilt his head up to look her in the eyes, a feat he found made his head swim. Those eyes…that color blue should be illegal.

"Eris, what do you want?" Eris? That name….

"Eris? Chaos, right?"

"Indeed Jack Harkness. If we had more time I would love…."

"Move, now. I am not in a forgiving mood Eris. Anything you have to say is too little too late. And unless you are currently holding my son you don't want to be standing in front of me."

Eris scoffed. "What would you do, Time Lord, against an immortal? If you want your son back it might just take more than talking to get him."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed even further. He stepped closer to the lovely, bronze-colored, white-toga wearing woman. "I am the last Time Lord in the Universe. Do you want to find out right now why that is? If not, I suggest stepping out of my way. I have things to do."

Eris's blue eyes went wide, but she nodded, stepping aside with the air of one who intended it all along, though her wary gaze wasn't meeting the Doctor's angered one. "You can't help him if you get killed in the process," she said, not looking at the Time Lord.

"That won't be happening. I recommend you leave, Eris." And he stalked away, towards the stairs that led up and up and up towards the plinth like temple on top of everything, rising above the mass of white buildings and statues.

Jack glanced back at the tall beauty. She met his gaze solidly. "I would be careful following him, Jack Harkness. He is dangerous and unpredictable. You might find yourself dead."

Jack flashed a self-depreciating grin. "I don't think that's happening any time soon." He glanced at the Doctor's retreating back. "I have a nephew to retrieve." Then he hurried to catch up.

Few words were spoken for the first couple hundred steps they took, then Jack, who was trying to keep up with the Doctor's relentless pace, finally spoke up. "What are you planning on doing Doctor? You can't just march in and demand Harry back! I mean, if these Olympians are anything like their mythic counterparts we won't even make it past the doors! Doctor! Are you listening?"

The Doctor spun on his heel and stared at Jack, three steps high and now even taller. "They have taken my son. They have broken every rule in whatever book there was ever written. So I'm going to be breaking some of mine. There are reasons the Time Lords feared me. Zeus is about to find out why."

Then he left Jack standing, shocked, on the steps of the endless staircase, unsure of what to do or what to say or anything. His brain hadn't quite processed what had just been thrown at it. So he rushed after the Doctor. Something was going to happen, something probably epic in terms of destruction. He was going to be there to make sure the Doctor came back to his senses in time to get them away safely.

Curious faces of the Olympians around them watched them climb the stairs but no one interfered. Jack wondered about it out loud.

"The Olympians are held in strict order by Zeus. Those that fail to follow that order don't usually end up in very nice places. Zeus is what amounts to a dictator and no one will stand up to him. SO they leave strangers alone. It's safer for them that way.

"Sounds like a harsh way to live," Jack said mutely.

"The punishments here are rather creative. Prometheus really was chained to a mountain to have his liver eaten out every day, only for it to regrow again. All for, as the Olympians say, bringing the spark of life to the Universe." The Doctor's scoff was enough for Jack to understand he didn't really believe it.

"So, do you know where you're going."

The Doctor glanced back at him. "I was here before, centuries and centuries ago granted. But Olympus never changes. It's been this way since they first built the city millennia ago. And Zeus is arrogant; he chooses his throne so it is above everywhere else in the city. His palace, one might say. His closest attendants and those highest in rank are located inside it as well." The Doctor pointed at the ever closer temple like structure. "It looks like a temple but inside it is all a maze."

Jack didn't think that made him feel any better about their endeavor. The Doctor was clearly furious, despite answering his queries with an even tone. Brown eyes were hard and almost burning and he was sure that the Time Lord's hands had remained clenched since they started climbing the steps. As they grew closer and closer to the top of the steps, Jack could make out the guards and sentries outside and gulped. This wasn't going to bode well for his state of mind, he was sure.

As they drew level with the temple floor, stepping up the final step, Jack's fears for opposition were quickly realized as the sentries, who had been watching their progress, called out to the guards and they were quickly surrounded. Not that this fazed the Doctor much at all.

Jack on the other hand, was not pleased by his situation. But he stood where he was. Harry was certainly in worse danger than him at the moment and the tyke wasn't immortal.

"Who crosses into the territory of Zeus the Almighty?" one sentry boomed out.

The Doctor turned to look at him directly. "I'm the Doctor. I'd ask if you'd fancy a chat but I'm not really in the mood for one. I'd also tell you to move, but I'm sure that wouldn't work either. As is…" he trailed off as several round discs were leveled in his direction. He raised an eyebrow. "As is, I am here to retrieve my son. So, unless you'd like to move, I'm afraid I'll have to take a more direct approach."

No matter how politely the Doctor couched his words, Jack heard the underlying threat that was blazing above his head. It seemed that the guards didn't.

One moment, Jack stood, trying to formulate a plan that would, somehow, get them both out alive, hopefully with minimal deaths on his part. The next every single one of the discs was blown apart and the Doctor was no longer standing next to him. In fact, the Doctor was now outside the circle of confused and bemused guards. Jack blinked.

Had he missed something important?

While the guards tried to figure out what had just happened, Jack shoved them aside to catch up with the brown, trench coated figure striding towards a seemingly solid wall. Jack desperately wanted to know what he had done to the guards but, after glimpsing his face, decided against it.

He would ask later.

~~~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~~~

_Harry. They have Harry. They took Harry. _ His mind was racing, but that one thought, over and over again, kept surfacing. His son, the little boy who called him dad and played games and wanted stories and special bubbles in the bath and would read him hero stories as he tinkered with the TARDIS, had been taken.

So when those guards, pitiful pawns in the hands of a much more sinister king than they imagined, surrounded him and Jack, he warned them. Then he took action.

It had been a long time, years, eons, since he had drawn so heavily on the innate connection to time all Time Lords had. Most never fully realized what it was exactly since many had rarely left Gallifrey unless ordered, but he had known what it was since his weaving. And while Gallifrey was gone along with all her majesties and history and power, time still flowed around him.

So he yanked on it and drew it around himself and aged their devices past the point of fixing as he slipped himself out of the circle. He was sure Jack would follow. Jack caught on rather quickly.

_Harry. My Harry. My son._ In this life, his life as the Doctor, his children were woven from a Family Loom and called Cousin. Once he had a Brother, chosen rather than given. Once he had a granddaughter, somehow his yet not at the same time. But he could remember a time when he had been a father to children with tiny feet and squeaky voices. When he couldn't remember his name but he could remember the sound of his wife, of his children running through hallways and playing games and laughing. He had never dreamed he would get that opportunity again.

Then he had been given Harry. And the little boy was his. Bright green eyes, messy black hair and always running feet, he had a child. And Zeus had taken him.

The door in the white wall was obvious and, as he sensed Jack run up behind him, he strode towards it with purpose. The Sonic Screwdriver in hand, it took little more than a quick point and assessment before he had typed the code into a small, nearly invisible panel, before he was inside and Jack's footsteps echoed with his as they strode into the complex.

~~~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~~~

"Lord Zeus, there has been unauthorized entry into the temple. The Watchers say it is the Doctor. What is it you would have us do?"

Zeus looked at the bowed heads of the Personifications. Nemesis, Tyche, Momus, Fors and Fortuna all stood along the walls. Moira, Mania and Hypnos were, as usual absent. Hypnos was no doubt cloistered in its room spinning discs around and gazing into orbs. He wasn't sure what Moira did with her time and he had banished Mania from stepping foot into the throne room so it wasn't a shock that she wasn't there.

"Stop him and bring him to me. Confiscate any foreign technology he has on his person and take it to Hephaestus. I shall teach him the consequences of disobeying Zeus the almighty."

They bowed lower before filing out the doors. If anyone could get this infernal, maddening Doctor, it would be the Personifications.

He looked around to see Hera and Athena staring at him from across the room. Disapproval was scrawled all across Hera's face.

"Don't you think you have done enough damage Zeus?" she said, marching over to him. He eyed her. Hera wasn't the Head of the Female Order of the Olympians for nothing.

"He deliberately broke the bonds of the traitor and thief Prometheus and helped him escape. He evaded punishment for his actions and must be dealt with accordingly," he said, keeping his tone even. The moment he raised it, Hera won.

"You took his child. That is not just punishment for actions. You gave his child to Asclepius and that horrid witch Hecate. That is punishable by the Erinyes. You have surpassed what is just punishment and have now broken the laws of Olympus. The child is to be protected."

"The child is not Olympian," he snapped. "He is not under our laws. He is under no laws. A child with the touch of the Eternals is under no law. A child under the protection of a Time Lord doubly so. I may do as I will."

Hera gazed at him, fury in her eyes. "Then I too shall do what I must, for the good of our laws." She turned and left, her second in command and warrior of unrestrained strength Athena following.

Zeus rested his head in his hands. This was not his day. Soon though, he would have that Doctor and his revenge. Soon Hera would see the error of her thoughts and come to his side. It was only a matter of time.

He looked over at the two shadowed figures lurking in the corner.

Well, there were always those two as well.

"Deimos, Phobos, make sure the Personifications carry out their instructions. If necessary you make capture the Time Lord yourselves.

The two slinked away with nary a word though Zeus was sure a giggle echoed around the chamber as an answer.

~~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~

Jack was worried. They had made it into the 'temple' with barely anyone stopping them. Beyond the guards outside, which were quickly dispatched through some Time Lord specialty or other, and a door that wasn't even good enough to stop a sonic screwdriver, nothing had prevented them from getting inside. No one was waiting for them and this made the former Time Agent nervous. There were very few reasons why there would be no guards inside and none of them boded well for Jack or the Doctor.

The Doctor, however, wasn't fazed by this at all. He hadn't been joking when he said the inside was like a maze but this was absurd. There were multiple options to turn at every branch, doors and side halls and stairs and Jack wasn't sure which way was back the way they came. So he supposed this was a kind of defense on its own. But the Doctor wasn't even hesitating as he took turns and obscure doors and passages and Jack just followed, silent and waiting for trouble.

So when a small, slender figure appeared out of a side hall he hadn't noticed, Jack was on the defensive. The Doctor stopped just shy of her personal bubble. Her dreamy, moonstone eyes gazed up at him, the white toga brushing the ground and dragging along behind her. Her white hair was loose and touched the floor. She was eerily creepy.

"Lord Doctor of those who call themselves Masters of Time. I have awaited your arrival on Olympus as we await the setting of the sun. Tidings."

"Moira. I don't have time for your talk of destiny. I need to find my son."

"The Child of the Eternals and the Vortex will be within the cradle of his home soon. Time must be made and broken and forgotten before the Child will return. The She of us all will show you the way. She will understand."

Jack watched the Doctor take in the words, frowning. This Moira had obviously figured out what the Doctor was planning, so why wasn't she trying to stop him?

"Immortal, friend of the Bad Wolf, Destiny cannot be altered by those who see it, only by those who are its chosen instruments. The Lord Doctor is its favorite and most hated son. He alters Destiny by existing but also allows Destiny to take shape."

Those moonstone eyes looked at him. Jack shivered slightly. "You know who Bad Wolf is?" he asked. A dreamy smile spread across the young face.

"The Bad Wolf wrote her own Destiny and in doing so Taught Destiny how to write. The Bad Wolf is Older than Destiny and Destiny's Child, a Circular Paradox contained in the form of a human being. All who See Destiny know The Bad Wolf."

The Doctor was clearly struggling with himself, wanting to know more but desperate to find Harry. Jack watched him, sympathized with him just a bit. But he knew Harry had already won. Rose would be a memory he treasured and never forgot. Harry was his child.

Moira looked at the Time Lord. "Never fear, Lord Doctor, the Bad Wolf is not forgotten or gone. Just Misplaced. The Bad Wolf Saw all of Destiny and Knew Her Path. Take heart. The Child will be found. The Personifications approach. I shall take my leave, Lord Doctor, Immortal. Destiny has spoken, so shall it pass."

The small girl/woman disappeared down a side corridor and Jack watched her go. So many questions, not enough time right now. They needed to get to Harry.

Jack opened his mouth, trying to formulate a question, but the Doctor looked at him.

"Not now Jack. I need to get to Harry. We'll worry about everything else later. And she gave us a pretty clear warning too. Good. I'll have time." He pulled something that looked decidedly like a crystallized hand, either a small adult's or a child's, out of his pocket and began to fiddle with the sonic screwdriver settings. He pointed the blue light at the hand and it whirred. The hand glowed and Jack had to keep yet another shiver down. This was turning into a strange, weird combination of everything that could possibly be strange and weird.

"What…is that a hand?" he asked when the shift of colors began anew. The Doctor raised a rhetorical eyebrow at him, wondering perhaps if Jack was unable to see properly.

"What, you can have my hand in a jar for years yet a crystal one in my pocket is weird?" he asked. Jack sighed.

"Just…what is that?" he finally conceded and asked.

The Doctor frowned. "It's something I never thought I would ever need again, not with the Time Lords gone. But it seems as if I'm wrong."

"That…doesn't answer my question," Jack said pointedly. The Doctor shook his head. He obviously wasn't going to answer. Jack looked up and down the hallway. "So, what are we waiting for exactly again?"

"Moira said the Personifications were coming," he said, the hand flashing again, this time bright silver. "Which can only mean the other personifications. Moira is Destiny. There's Tyche, Nemesis, Momus, Fors, Fortuna, Mania and Hypnos. Though I don't think Hypnos would be among them and Mania is restricted from entering the upper levels. They're strong and dangerous in their own rights, combined as they are they are deadly. I need something to stop them until this She arrives."

Jack blinked at the onslaught of information and tried to filter what he knew of Greek mythology through that list of names. Some of them were easy, Fortuna and Hypnos. The others weren't. He was about to ask until a slender, well, actually stick like figure, rounded the corner and approached them. Behind ranged five others of various shapes and sizes. They approached quickly and Jack tried to shift in front of the Doctor. He was pushed back by a long fingered hand as pure silver light flashed through the hallway, racing towards the six Personifications.

Jack watched in astonishment as they all froze, before starting to move backwards down the hall, well, as they reversed their movements completely, stepping backwards as if in rewind. Jack looked sharply at the Doctor.

"What did you do to them?"

"Merely reversed the aspects of Time that they inhabited, setting their perception of the world as a backwards loop so their brains are registering what they _did_ do rather than what they are going to do so that their bodies, effectively, retrace the last fifteen minutes exactly of their previous actions down to the tiniest movement in reverse. Their brains are repatterning their perception of time until the effect wears off and they regain their natural state."

"You…what? You rewound them?"

The Doctor shrugged. "In simple terms, I suppose so."

"With your crystal hand thing?"

"The Doctor slipped the now opaque hand into his pocket. "I'll have to wait to use it again. Only effective once I can impose its limits and right now it has no direction. It also needs to be recharged."

Jack shook his head. This whole rescue was becoming more and more fascinating complicated the longer they were here.

A wave of fear hit him and his spine stiffened. It tasted unnatural but his body screamed at him to run. The Doctor laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down. I expected something like this. It's not your fear, let your brain taste it and it'll wash out."

~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~

The moment the wave of pure fear rolled through him, the Doctor knew who else Zeus had sent. Deimos, most likely with his twin Phobos. Which didn't bode well for them at all.

The book hadn't been clear exactly on what Deimos and Phobos looked like or what they could do, beyond being Fear and Terror. Not Personifications. They were Fear and Terror. Shadows slipped along the wall, indistinguishable unless one noticed a distinct body shape just a shade lighter than the shadow it was shrouded in.

He let the fear run through his mind, let the unconscious part taste the artificiality of it, sloughed it off. Jack, next to him, wasn't nearly as successful. He whispered some words of encouragement to help him shake off the effect but he knew the human body would have a harder time of it than his own physiology. His mind was fully accessible. The human mind was mostly sealed shut from their own prodding thoughts.

Still, Jack's shoulders loosened.

"Deimos, Phobos. It must be serious if Zeus is letting his play toys out of their cage."

Laughter greeted his words. "The mighty Time Lord knows not of our true nature. He who is Destroyer of Worlds does not feel terror, he gives it. So we shall make him feel terror and fear." The voices were creepy and echo like. The Doctor tried not to think of what was happening to Harry. He couldn't afford the fear that thought inspired at the moment. He needed to beat them at their own game.

"Your artificial fear and terror is useless. If the body knows it is fake it ignores it."

"Then we shall make the fear and terror real. How much do you care for your friend?"

The Doctor turned to Jack, eyes wide. He met Jack's blue eyes and saw the captain understand his plan. "Don't you hurt him! He has nothing to do with this quarrel between Zeus and myself."

"You brought him to the temple. He is now fair game. We shall give you fear Doctor. Zeus did not ask for the human, he asked only for you. There is not purpose for him anymore."

Then a black hand shot out from the shadows and sliced right through Jack's chest. The Doctor felt his hearts clench.

"JACK!" only the gurgle of Jack's air trying to reach his lungs met him as the Captains body fell to the ground. He whirled around, trying to pinpoint their locations. Jack breathed his last on the floor at his feet.

Now all he needed to do was stall for time.

"Do you feel the fear now, Doctor? The terror of losing a friend is a terrible thing."

"You didn't need to kill him! He was no threat to you or to Zeus!"

"He was useless. He was purposeless. His death gives you fear. That is all we need. Zeus will see you now."

"Zeus is an arrogant dictator who can't accept when someone else changes the rules to his games. Well, let's see how much I can change those rules then, shall I?"

The giggling echoed through the hallway just as Jack breathed back into life. The giggling cut off abruptly.

"Who are you? What is this you bring into the temple, Time Lord? What is this human who does not die?"

The Doctor smirked. "You just killed the best friend of the Bad Wolf Phobos. I am sure that name as reached your shadowed ears before."

Outraged noises. "Lies. The Bad Wolf is older than creation!"

"The Bad Wolf is Destiny's mother and Destiny's child. I'm sure there are worse ways to go but harming the personal friend of Destiny's child might not be so bad for you two," the Doctor hazard, watching the two shadows shake against the wall.

Then, as suddenly as they were there, they were gone. Jack coughed and pushed himself off the floor. The Doctor lifted him up.

"Why did they run off?" he asked hoarsely. The Doctor's grin was empty and terrifying.

"Deimos and Phobos have felt the hand of Destiny, when they were created, and their inability to affect it in any way has left them uneasy. When Moira spoke of the Bad Wolf, she spoke of those who See Destiny knowing her. I took a gamble on them having seen the Bad Wolf. She's unforgettable and rather terrifying, I've been told. They fear what she could do to them."

Jack blinked. "Really. But, aren't they Fear and Terror or something? How can they be scared of anything?"

"They fear that which cannot be controlled by fear or terror. Destiny and its child, well, they aren't concerned with anything as paltry as fear and terror. The lack of it is as terrifying to them as the overabundance of it is to you or me."

Jack shook his head. "Alright, alright, so where's Harry then?"

The Doctor's face looked absolutely anguished for a brief second before it hardened. Jack had been trying to ignore the fear he had been feeling for Harry, but the assault by the duo of monstrous nightmares wasn't helping him handle it any better.

"I don't know where Asclepius is keeping him. I was planning on following the energy trace he leaves but after the interference of the Personifications I can't pin it down. I wasn't even sure I had the right wavelength to begin with but I was hoping…"

Jack felt his body freeze. "Wait, what? You were tracking Harry with your sonic screwdriver? But, isn't it impossible to track humans?"

"Humans yes, but Harry leaves behind a very faint but very distinct residual Psionic energy trail when he goes somewhere. I could have put a dampener on him so he wouldn't but I figured it would be helpful if he ever got lost or something." The Doctor sighed, shoulders slumping. "Now though, I can't even get a proper read on it. The air's too clouded by all the different energy signatures."

Jack frowned. It made some sort of sense. He whirled when a hand tapped him on the shoulder. A woman, tall, slender, draped in white and with very beautiful if too perfect features stood behind him. He had to look up at her.

"You are the child's guardians?" she asked, her voice both harsh and melodic.

"He's my son, yes," the Doctor said. "Are you the "She of us all"?"

A smile. "I am Hera, Head of the Female Order of Olympians. This is my Second in Command, Athena. So yes, I would be the She of us all. Moira spoke to you then?"

The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "From my understanding, you are supposed to be Zeus's right hand. Why are you here, helping us?"

Hera sighed. "Zeus has broken the Laws of Olympus with his actions. I merely seek to right a wrong. Whatever punishment you inflict on us for our non-action I can only call justified. The Family is sacred on Olympus. Zeus has forgotten it."

The Doctor stared at her, eyes hard, until he nodded. "Alright then. Take me to my son. I assume Asclepius as him by now?"

Hera nodded. "Asclepius and Hecate and Aphrodite. Paeon is there as well, though he is mostly a slave to Asclepius's whims."

The Doctor's eyes flashed again and Jack made sure to stand behind him as Hera led them down the corridor.

"Do you know what they are doing to my son?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Hera shook her head. "I do not know. I can tell you nothing good can come out of what they do to him, though it has only been several hours by the candle so nothing drastic. Asclepius enjoyed taking his time. Hecate even more so."

This did nothing to halt the steady burn of the Doctor's temper. Jack hoped that he wouldn't do anything drastic.

Athena, the silent warrior who looked made of muscle and dressed in gleaming armor, walked behind them, staring intently at a point beyond Hera, probably looking out for danger.

The walk to the room was quiet, mostly to keep attention from being drawn to them, partly because the Doctor would most likely destroy anyone who spoke to him until he had Harry back. Jack worried for him and Harry. He hadn't fully realized how attached the Doctor had been until recently. And he would most likely be getting a very good look at to how much Harry meant as soon as Harry was back with him and the Doctor confronted Zeus.

Hera stopped beside a door, punching in a number and laying her finger on a small plate. The door hissed and slid down. "Your son is within, Doctor. Zeus's chambers are down the hall, the third door on your left. I offer what little apologies I can for the actions he took." She bowed her head and headed back the way they came, Athena following her still.

The Doctor nodded curtly at her but didn't say anything, rushing inside instead.

~~~~~This is a line Break~~~~~~

The Doctor burst into the room, the door slamming into the wall with a violent shove and staying there, unmoving, probably unwilling to take any more abuse.

Four large figures of the Olympians were unconscious in corners of the room, sprawled and angled awkwardly. Brown eyes searched the room frantically for the small figure that he could feel. Harry's black mop of hair was in the far end of the room, body huddled against the wall, eyes wide, terrified and dripping with tears.

The Doctor immediately rushed to Harry, worried that he was making no sound but so glad he was alive.

"Harry, Harry, I'm so sorry. So sorry." He fluttered more, making sure he wasn't hurt. Harry mustered a small smile, reaching out a hand to pat his dad's face. The moment his skin made contact, his mouth opened in a silent scream and he jerked back into a ball, huddled into the wall. The Doctor's eyes went wide.

"Doctor, what's wrong, why isn't he making noise?" Jack hovered in the background as the thin frame shook in fury. Brown eyes snapped over to the nearest figure, a mousy man with a narrow face and a plain white toga. The Doctor shook him awake.

"What did you do to my son? What did you do to him?" Maybe not the best way to interrogate someone, but it was effective. At least, as soon as the man stopped stuttering long enough to answer the question. The mousy brown eyes were wide in terror.

"I…I didn't do anything. It..it was Asclepius and He-hecate. They…they opened his mind. They warped…they moved his power throughout his body. They…they I'm sorry I'm sorry please don't hurt me!" The Doctor growled.

"It'll be so much faster to do this the other way. Hold still. This might hurt." And with that, the Doctor gripped the sides of the man's head and forced his mind into the others. The rush of information was fast and furious and made him gasp in pain. He rarely ever did this without the other person relaxing, and this was a brutal method. But he needed the information and this one couldn't string a sentence together.

Then, a minute or so later, he dropped the man to the ground and let him curl into a ball, whimpering, clutching his head. Jack stared, wide eyed, at the vibrating figure. Fury was wrapped around him like a cloak, flowing outward and shimmering in the air. Brown eyes flashed dangerously as he looked over the mostly unconscious occupants of the room.

"Doctor…are you….what did they do?" He thought better of the question he was going to ask.

"They tore his mind open, they ripped it and rummaged through it like rats then warped the connections. The synapses…they forced them open, flooding his mind with nuero-chemicals, biofeedback signals. Every single time he touches someone skin-on-skin, unhindered mental connection is made and it races through his mind in a torrent. They did the worst thing you can to a person; they made him a touch-empath. He can't touch someone without…without _feeling_ every single emotion, every single thought." He looked at Harry, his eyes full of pain. "He can't….I can't touch him. Not his skin, not even for a moment. They didn't give him any protection, any barriers. They just ripped through his brain and left him open, wide open and scrambling for stability." He knelt back down to Harry's level, laid a hand on Harry's covered shoulder. Harry opened red-rimmed green eyes, sniffling.

Jack stared in horror. Touch-empaths were solitary, frightful beings who were cursed with their ability. They were born with it, and if they survived childhood to become adults, they were shunned by those around them. They were a uniquely human phenomena that began to occur with the sudden surge of psychics and other similarly gifted individuals. They could be the offshoot of the interspecies genes mixing with the human or some strange genetic quark, but those with touch-empathy were always the more disturbing ones. With no physical contact most of their lives, they shunned and were shunned.

"Doctor…what can we do?"

"I don't….wait, they had to use Harry's magic to make it possible, his genetic sequence wouldn't allow them to alter the pertinent structures necessary to stabilize an empathic connection throughout his body, which means they had to tie the nervous system directly into his core. Which would allow….hold this, I need to find something." The Doctor shoved the screwdriver into Jack's hands and dug through his pockets, rummaging deeper than the size should allow. Buttons, a book, a tea cup (chipped), a toothbrush, a few unnamable things and a watch fell out of them as the Doctor dug deeper and deeper in, until he smiled triumphantly and pulled out a twisting, looping golden chain.

Jack stared as the Doctor knelt closer to Harry, unlinking the back of the necklace and reaching around the boy's neck. Harry whimpered soundlessly as fingers brushed his neck, hands clenching into fists. "Shh, Harry, just a second. It'll be alright. Shhh." He linked the chain and in that instant, all the tension in Harry's body flowed out, to the floor. Harry sighed and melted bonelessly into the wall. "Yes, yes, earlier than I had ever hoped needing to use it, but it serves its purpose."

The necklace was of a shimmering gold Jack had never seen before. The Doctor pulled Harry close to him.

"What is it?" He gestured at the necklace around the now sleeping Harry's neck. The Doctor looked up.

"It was a gift given by the Guardians of the Forest of Hadroona. Not long after I got Harry. It restrains his magic, pulls it back into his core rather than allowing it to flow freely around him, as it has been doing. It also restrains his Empathy to a minimal level. Those…monsters wove his magic along his nerves as they forced his mind open, tying his amygdale and his cerebral cortex together with the power and running it into his nervous system. Because they couldn't alter the genetic sequence to make him a true empath, they had to improvise, which allows this necklace to work." The Doctor gazed down at the sleeping child. "He can never take that necklace off, not unless he gains complete control over his power, iron control. Otherwise sensations will flood his body immediately." The Time Lord raised eyes full of sadness to Jack's own.

Jack reached out to stroke Harry's cheek. "Why isn't he talking, or screaming? Did they…do something to his voice?" They could have taken it. Harry might never…no, he couldn't think like that.

The Doctor shook his head. "No, they didn't take his voice. You can't take a person's voice, only their ability to use their vocal cords. But no, not that either. They basically suppressed Harry's vocal cords to the point where they won't resonate was air passes over them. According to that….that creature over there, it's only temporary, reapplied after Harry screamed. Another twenty hours will allow it to wear off. And no, I can't do anything about it. Olympians possess unique qualities I can't override. We just have to wait, and hope Harry sleeps through it." He shifted Harry in his arms, watching the gold of the necklace glint on the small boy's chest. Eyes flashed in anger. "Now, though, we have a punishment to met out, Furies to satiate. Let's go."

The lack of the usual catchword just underlined the Doctor's fury. Jack followed, now relieved Harry was safe and somewhat worried as to what exactly the Doctor was planning on. His child had been taken and harmed, his mind tampered with and his body poked at. It wouldn't be pretty, Zeus's ultimate demise.

Harry lie against the Doctor's chest, head tucked into the curve of his neck and shoulder, the golden necklace glimmering on his chest. He slept, eyes wet with tears and track marks on his cheeks. It made Jack's heart swell in anger. It was nothing compared to the anger Jack saw when he looked at the Doctor.

The Doctor's eyes burned in fury and rage and pain and Jack scrambled out of the way as he made for the door Hera had indicated. Jack looked at Harry fearfully, scared for him and what could have possibly happened. The Doctor would explain in time, but right now all he knew was that Harry and been made into a Touch-Empath. He had encountered one before and just the merest brush against their bare skin had left him reeling with emotions that weren't his own, fear and loneliness and loss and pain. He had felt empty inside, as if something had been taken. Later he had been told the empath had taken his happiness and his joy. It was the only way they knew how to survive.

Now Harry was one. The necklace kept it at bay but to know that someone had deliberately altered another being into such a creation was horrifying.

The Doctor blew the door into Zeus's chambers open. Jack followed him in.

The throne room was huge, the ceiling beyond his eyesight, but what he focused on was the man perched on a throne at the far wall, center stage in front of the door as if a performance. It was, Jack knew. It was how rulers got attention. Grab it from the moment anyone walks in.

He also knew it wouldn't work on the Doctor.

"Time Lord, you return. And you have your child. I underestimated you. I won't do so again."

"Zeus, leader of Olympus, wielder of lightning in all its forms, Head of all the Olympians and self-proclaimed god. You took my child; you have broken your own planet's laws of non-violence to children and the sacred commandment of the family. You are guilty of crimes older than your race. Your people are guilty of the crime of non interference."

Zeus laughed. "And what is a Time Lord going to do about it? We are immortal! We cannot be killed!" He spat the word Time Lord like it was a bad word.

Jack flinched at the Doctor's dark look. "I am the last Time Lord in the Universe. I killed the rest of them. There are ways of killing the un-killable." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the crystallized hand Jack had seen him use earlier on the Personifications. The Doctor turned to him, Held Harry out with one arm, pain creasing his face. "I need both hands. Can you…can you hold him? Please?"

Jack nodded, taking Harry with careful arms and settling the child into the crook of his shoulder. Harry slept on.

The Doctor turned back to Zeus, who was looking astonished. "You killed the Time Lords? How?"

"You broke the law of the sanctity of children, the sacred family. You took my child. You harmed _my child_." The Doctor hefted the crystalline hand with his own. "I am not sorry for this." Then he threw the hand into the air. It flashed brilliant gold and plummeted towards the floor. The Doctor stepped back. "This is one of the last remnants of the might of the Time Lords. This hand is used to manipulate time. In its basic uses, speed up and slow down. But, if one knows how, the hand can be used for things much greater. Right now, as it falls to the floor, it is ripping a hole in the Time Vortex. It is ripping this planet into an erased timeline. You will never have existed."

Zeus watched the hand fall, as if in slow motion. "You…you wouldn't. You couldn't! Not innocents, not to everyone on this planet!"

"Watch me."

Zeus roared in fury, aiming a hand crackling with electricity at the Doctor. Jack watched as it seemed to slide around the tall, thin, furious figure. "DOCTOR! I WILL DESTROY YOU AS WELL!"

The golden light erased Zeus from view and Jack rested a hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "Um, Doctor? If we don't leave now, will me end up in that timeline too?" he asked. The Doctor's eyes widened.

"Yes, yes, come on, we don't have much time."

He took Harry from Jack without a word and raced for the door, dodging a lightning bolt from Zeus as he made it through and into the hallway. Everywhere the building was shaking apart at the disruption within the time vortex. They were unaccosted as they hurried out the far door and back through the maze. At a dead run and with the Doctor's excellent memory, they made it out to the stairs faster than Jack would have thought possible.

He narrowed his eyes at the Doctor. He was sure the Time Lord had done something but right now they needed to be out of the city. The stair case was descended as fast as was possible without falling face first down it.

Eris stood at the bottom, eyes wide in horror. She looked at the Doctor, fear in her eyes. "What did you do? I can…I can feel it in the air. I can hear it!"

"The Doctor looked at her. His eyes seemed to soften just a bit. "Goodbye Eris. You might just survive it too."

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" She screamed at them as they took off out the gates and across the fields. Behind them the whole city started to glow. The temple was gone in the golden haze and as they reached the TARDIS, the city started to vanish. The Doctor snapped it open and they rushed inside. The doors closed behind them.

With one hand the Doctor sent them spinning into the vortex and collapsed into a chair. Harry was still asleep against his chest and Jack leaned against the railing, heaving for air and trying to reassure his lungs that he wasn't dead this time, so breathe dammit.

Jack looked up at the Doctor. Unsure of what to say. What did you say to someone who just erased an entire planet? Then he looked at Harry. His uncertainty turned to fear. Was Harry okay?

Before he could say anything, the Doctor disappeared into the hallways. He would have to wait.

~~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~~

He had sworn never to use the Hand, ever. He had just condemned and entire race to oblivion, to a Timeline that no longer existed, to a life where they would be erased because they couldn't continue to live because there was no time. Unending death.

Because of Harry. Because they had taken his child from him.

It scared him. What would he not do for Harry? He couldn't think of anything. And that scared him more than he thought was possible.

Such a tiny little being with such an enormous impact on him. He should be scared, but right now all he felt was relief that Harry was back. Back and alive and safe. He wasn't sure what had been done to him but he would find out as soon as Harry woke up. If Harry woke up. No, no, _when_ Harry woke up.

~~~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~~~

She could feel the pain radiating off her newest child, engulfing him in waves. His mind was asleep, protecting itself the only way it knew how, but his body was wracked with pain. And her Time Lord too. His heart was heavy with anger and rage and sorrow. All these emotions, brought into her control room. She shuddered, her whole mainframe shivering and she keened softly.

Her Time Lord, his child, they brought heavy hearts with them. She could only shift the rooms around so Harry's bedroom was closest, and her Time Lord set him down gently. The immortal who carried a piece of her, an infinitesimally small piece of her, lingered at Harry's door before he realized he wasn't welcome just then and went to his own room.

She had been so happy when Harry arrived, feeling the power that spiraled around him connect to her, an intrinsic connection that she would always have with him. And her Time Lord was happy, happier than he had been in a long time. He laughed louder, his eyes were brighter, he took her to beautiful places. Harry would play in her hallways, his magic touching every inch of her walls, and he could feel her too. So young, yet so brilliant. This child, it had been a long time since a child had been within her walls, a child still young enough to touch. She reveled in it.

Now, his power was wrapped around his core, held there by a pulsing chain of foreign power, and she could do nothing about it. Her Time Lord just sat beside Harry's bed and watched him sleep, counting his breaths and stroking his cheek, reassuring himself that Harry was there, that he was alive.

~~~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~~

The Doctor sat vigil besides Harry's bed, staring unblinkingly at the small, almost motionless form of the child ensconced within the blankets. Only the up-and-down movement of his chest indicated some sign of life.

He was terrified. He wasn't sure if it was Harry never waking up or Harry waking up, but just the fact that this small child he had cared for for so long had been placed in danger, a danger that was, ultimately, his fault, it didn't inspire hope. Harry had to wake up, but what if he was scared of him? Wouldn't let the Doctor come near him? Residual effects of what Harry went through…he knew the effects it had on the mind. But he couldn't bear it if Harry stayed asleep forever. Despite the words of the Furies, his mind raced with all the worst possibilities. And he could think of a lot of possibilities.

A hand twitched, shifted, and then rubbed across slowly blinking eyes. The Doctor leaned forward, hearts leaping. He was awake! Harry was up!

The terrified expression crossing the boy's young face sat him quickly down in his chair. Harry's eyes, bright emerald eyes, were wide in horror and fear. They didn't seem to see what was in front of them, but the fear shining in their depths was hardly in need of translation. He kept his hands to himself, not daring to reach out to comfort his child. No matter how badly he wanted to, Harry's initial reaction….it would not end well if he did. He had to wait for Harry to calm down.

It took a few hearts pounding moments, but Harry's eyes cleared, and they landed of the Doctor.

"Daddy?" The voice was little more than a whisper. He nodded, and Harry launched himself across the bed and into his father's arms. "Daddy! Saved me." His hearts skipped a beat. What had he ever done to deserve this level of devotion?

"Yeah, Harry." He couldn't say more. Harry burrowed into his father's arms, face pressed into the white dress shirt, arms hugging as far around the thin frame as he could.

They stayed, embraced, for a few more minutes, before the Doctor pulled Harry back slightly, sitting him on his knee and visually inspecting him.

He couldn't see where any physical surgical scars would be, but the Olympians were advanced enough that they scars would be tiny. Microscopic. His sensitive finder pads felt small, almost unnoticeable raised lines around Harry's skull, his throat, down his arms and, he guessed, directly up his back. His throat closed up. Harry stared at him with worried eyes.

"Daddy? Are you okay? Did they hurt you too?" Oh, his little Harry, always worried about people, always caring and generous.

"No, no Harry. Daddy's fine. I'm just so…so happy to see you again." And he wished he had been there to see what the Furies had done to Zeus. To do it to that arrogant prick himself.

It wasn't becoming of a Time Lord, such thoughts, but that was the furthest thing from his mind. His Harry, his sweet, precious, smiling, laughing, kind Harry, had been hurt.

"Harry? Is it alright if I use the scanner to make sure you aren't hurt? No med bay, I promise. We can do it in here, or the console room…" Harry's eyes lit up. "The console room it is then. Allonzy!" Harry giggled and he was picked up and spun around, the Doctor marching out into the hallway and towards the console room. He set Harry on his seat and dug around for the scanner.

"Alright, under 'M' for medicine…no…..'S' for scanner….no….'D'…no….'Ah, here we are! 'T' for thingamajig! That's a technical term, you know." Harry giggled again. The Doctor smiled. "Alright, let me get this working….here's the on switch…" The device fizzled and popped before vibrating violently. Then is clicked and hissed on. The Doctor stared at it in puzzlement, then the screen blipped into existence and he beamed. "Ah, here we are! Hold still Harry, just got to get these settings adjusted….." he fiddled with the multitude of buttons and possible choices before settling on the closest to Harry's species category. Human. Then he pointed one end at Harry and turned to side button.

Harry wiggled as the blue light traced his body. "Feels funny daddy. Tickles." He giggled again. The Doctor smiled.

"Almost done….almost….there!" The blue light flickered out and the Doctor inspected the screen.

Species: Human? Unknown secondary and tertiary genetic structure. Elements of Time Vortex.

Height: .68 metres.

Weight: 15.87 kilo

Blood Type: Unknown Genetic interference.

Genome Structure: Elements of human genome type, addition of fifth, sixth, seventh, eight nucleotides to genetic polymer. Effect is unknown. Basic double helix structure, addition of occasional triple helix. Cause: Subject is within a Time Vortex Manipulator.

Cerebral Cortex: Influx of foreign proteins and chemical compounds designed to stimulate growth of synapses and mental connections. Effect: Drastic improvement in mental functions of subject. Possible insanity.

Nervous System. Additional nerves connected to the Central Nerve. Effect is unknown.

Miscellaneous: Subject's eyes have been altered. Possibility to see energy wavelengths, dimensions. Subject's vocal cords have been altered. Effect is unknown. Subject's organs have been rejuvenated. Effect: Longer cellular lifespan of each organ system. Possibility of extended life.

A very basic readout of Harry's current predicament. The Doctor's hands clenched around the scanner, and he quickly pressed a few more buttons, reading out a long winded and technical description of the short summery he had been given. Every line made his eyes harden, and when he finally finished, it took his entire self-control to simply set the scanner aside instead of throwing it across the room. He pulled his anger in, let his hands clench into fists for a few minutes, before he reached out and pulled Harry into a tight embrace. Harry struggled for a few minutes, then, feeling the anguish in the Doctor's embrace, he settled down and let his dad just hold him.

He knew Harry had been turned into a Touch Empath, that was why the golden necklace was scratching against his chest. He knew they had altered his brain chemistry. He hadn't realized they had messed with his genes, his eyes, his vocal cords, his physical structure. They had…they had….they had played 'perfect human' on a child, a child that was not yet three, a child that was _his,_ _his _ child. Harry…he wouldn't know the full extent of the damage they had wrought on Harry until he was older, until he had matured and his body's hormones decided to kick in. With the addition of these…changes, he couldn't even guess as when that would happen.

Harry leaned indulgently into his dad's embrace, enjoying the comfort of the hug. He felt strange, like he was missing something important, he couldn't reach something vital, but for now, he was just glad to be here, home. Home and warm and in the TARDIS.

The TARDIS. He could feel her surrounding him, her own strange energy enfolding him and lending him support. He didn't know why, but it felt nice, it didn't make this loss so insistent on his mind. The TARDIS, for her part, knew Harry was feeling the loss of the freedom he had with his magic, the ability to do what he wanted to with it without care, and she compensated by letting her age old Atron Energy fill in the missing gaps. Later Harry would have to deal with this sudden loss of freedom and free play with his magic, to learn how to control it willfully, but for now, he was unaware of the loss. It was how she wanted him to be for a while longer. Just a while, until he had grown up some and could handle this loss.

Harry pushed insistently at the Doctor, wanting to say something, and the Time Lord pulled back, his face an unreadable mask. Harry smiled up at him, and the Doctor's face softened. "Adventure Time, Daddy."

Harry smiled. "Adventure Time Dad?" The Doctor smiled softly.

"Not now Harry. Now, now I need to make sure you'll be okay. They did some very bad things to you." He wasn't used to using words so small, lacking the technical details that his words usually were filled with, but Harry might not understand DNA and polymer and double helix and chemical bath and any of the other numerous things he could use. No, he had to stick to the basics.

Harry frowned. "But...I want to go on an adventure!"

"Not now Harry, please. Now, now I just want to make sure you're safe. I want to keep you safe. Your body...your body is not well. You have that necklace on, you feel it? You have to keep it on all the time. You can't take it off."

"Why?

"If you do, well, if you do you'll hurt a lot. You won't be able to stop hurting until you put it back on, not until you can control your magic. You can't feel it right now, can you?"

Harry furrowed his eyes. "No, not really. It's...it's still there, but I can't...I can't reach it. Why?"

"The people that took you away did bad things. They hurt you, and they made it so your magic, it feels everything." Harry looked puzzled. "Alright, imagine you have a cut, and you have a band aid on it, so it heals quickly. And it heals and you have a scab left. Now, your magic was sort of like the blood underneath that scab. They people who took you, they ripped the scab off and poured lemon juice on it and now it won't close up again and the blood, your magic, is running everywhere. Understand?"

Harry nodded slightly. "So, my magic...it touches everything?"

"Yes. So until you can pull your magic out yourself, you have to leave that necklace on and never take it off. Please Harry, promise me that." Harry nodded solemnly.

"Promise daddy. Can we go on an adventure now?

The Doctor laughed. "No, not yet. Food first, then more bed for you. I...I want to do more tests, but I need you to be rested and not sleepy, okay?"

"Kay. I want Silvarian Pasta. Please?" They headed into the kitchens, Harry asking for more and more outrageous foods. The Doctor smiled, Harry hoisted on his hip, and glad that there weren't any more obviously ill effects from what had happened.

Jack leaned against the counter, watching them come into the room, and Harry's eyes lit up. The Doctor smiled at him, thanking him with eyes and smiles and silent words.

"Hey Harry. How are you feeling?"

Harry reached out for Jack, who took him from the Doctor with a smile. "Hi Jack! Daddy said I was okay. But I have to wear the necklace all the time. That's okay. It's sparkly and pretty and I like it."

Jack listened intently. "Really? It is a nice necklace, I have to say. It's very pretty." Harry smiled.

"Food now! I'm gonna eat Silvarian Pasta! Daddy said I could." Harry turned to look at his father, as if daring him to say otherwise. The Doctor smiled and nodded. Harry clapped.

The pasta was produced in due time and Harry managed to eat half of it before he yawned and curled up against the Doctor, falling asleep quickly. Jack dropped the jokey, smiley face and looked seriously at the Doctor.

"What happened to him? I stayed out of it because he's your kid, but I care about him too. And I don't want some quick and simple answer."

The Doctor sighed, resting a hand on Harry's back, holding the child to him. Then he looked directly at Jack, eyes flat.

"I ran a scan on him. Beyond the complete and utter demolition of his mental barriers and the tampering of his magic, they tried to recreate him in their image. They didn't get very far, managing to perfect his eyes and some minor physical adjustments on his skeletal frame, but they flooded his brain with chemicals. Various neuro-chemicals and proteins that stimulate growth. In a mind as young as his, the effects are unknown. He'll be sleepy, hungry and hyper for a while, then he'll either calm down some or…" Jack watched the Doctor glance down at Harry, eyes swirling in worry and fear. He could guess what came next, but he didn't want to. It wasn't…he didn't know if he could. "Or he'll go insane. Schizophrenia would be the most common result. Hallucinations, disorientation, synesthesia are also a possibility. It might also not happen until Harry hits puberty. The chemicals might just swirl around, bolstering his mental faculties until his own hormonal imbalance hits and they start to influence his growth. His mental state…we will have to watch him very carefully. His magical and mental growth will be both off the charts and very very dangerous."

The Doctor spoke in a carefully level tone, but Jack could see the fury and fear under the surface. How it was all the Doctor could do not to clutch Harry to him and never let him go. Jack reached over the small table and rested a hand on the Doctor's arm, providing a silent support.

"I may not know all there is about human physiology, but I won't leave you, or him. I'll be here, to help or whatever you need."

The Doctor looked at him, a smile threatening at the corners of his lips. He nodded.

They say there in silence, watching the small human in front of them sleep, a child who was unaware of just how dangerous the next few weeks would be.

~~~~~~~~~This is an Ending~~~~~~~

To the many guests who reviewed that story, Thank you all so much! To everyone who reviewed, I hope I managed to get all of you in a PM! I sincerely appreciate it!

Thanks!

Kuroi


	8. In Which Things for Harry Change

Hey guys! All of your kind words (and minor threats for my actions last chapter) have been amazing to read and get! I love them! For those who didn't realize, Chapter 7 is now replaced and very very different if you didn't read the side story before.

A note on this chapter: I hope you know some of the basics on the Cartmel Masterplan or Lungbarrow as well as some things on the Eternals. That latter isn't necessary, a lot of explanation will be given. The former, however, is sort of important to my idea on the Doctor's background.

For those who don't know, the Cartmel Masterplan and Lungbarrow were both ideas from the late eighties that were planned to give the Doctor back some of the mystery he lost over the course of the Classic series. There are a lot of references to the Other and the Triumverate that made the Time Lords what they became, Rassilon and Omega, and Pythia's Curse. Pythia's Curse basically cursed Gallifrey to never have another child, so the Looms were created to Weave children. It's really complicated and to try and explain anymore would require its own story. But it is definitely worth a look up!

Alright, as per the norm, replies to those reviewers I couldn't reach by PM are at the bottom! And to KoS and Kira Kyuu, thank you! You are both so awesome to talk to and everything!

~~~~~~~~~This is a Beginning~~~~~~~~

The first few weeks after Harry woke up was filled with mostly Harry sleeping for hours. He was like a cat in that respect, curling up randomly, usually on or near the Doctor, and nodding off. When he wasn't asleep he wasn't any farther than ten feet from the Doctor at any time. He would rather have the Doctor's hand in his, or his coat, or be in his arms.

It was disconcerting and rather frustrating for Jack, if he was honest. He couldn't do anything to help Harry and the Doctor was quieter than usual when Harry was asleep, retreating to a back room and leaving Jack to his own devices. Jack couldn't even wander outside the TARDIS, seeing as, more often than not, the Doctor would let the TARDIS float through some part of space not filled with hyperspace lanes or planets.

And Jack had questions. He had lots of questions for the Doctor. He had questions about Harry, about Bad Wolf, about what exactly happened on Olympus, about Moira's words. He never got to ask them, the Doctor was always doing something else.

The TARDIS too was doing her best to protect the young boy. When they did land, she made sure they landed exactly where the Doctor intended, mostly places without sentient life or extremely peaceful places where there were no wars or conflicts to be had for centuries in either direction.

Now they were sitting on what could be called a beach, Harry's attempt at sand buildings evident all around them. The boy was asleep at the moment, curled up in his father's lap, small chest gently rising and falling. The Doctor was watching the slowly diminishing crescent of the large gas giant that this moon circled and Jack figured now would probably his only chance to ask questions.

"What's wrong with him?" he asked softly, broaching the subject with probably the most important yet least likely to provoke an angered response question. "Why is he so…stuck to you?" The Doctor brushed a hand over Harry's head.

"He's terrified I'm going to vanish and he'll be left alone. He doesn't say as much when he's awake, but he does talk in his sleep." Harry's hand grasped the Doctor's shirt tightly, settling down deeper into sleep. Nothing sentient was anywhere near them for now. Lightly glowing water, H2O with a scattering of phosphorus rocks, lapped against the rocky, grey colored coast. It would be called the Light of the Betricax in the future but for now it was unknown.

Jack nodded. He could understand that. Even though Harry was almost too young to form solid memories of the event (the Time Agency made them take courses on Memory and how it changes, solidifies and adapts in various species) right now they would be nightmares and vivid memories. Pain was the Universes great teacher and created highly responsive memories.

"Doctor, I've seen Bad Wolf before, on computer files associated with you. What is it? She?" The Doctor smiled at him, sad and solemn.

"You know who she is. She's the reason you're alive today Jack. Why you'll always be alive. She created herself and thus was created and existed for but a moment yet has always existed. A feat that no being in the Universe has ever managed, to create themselves and have been themselves for all of creation."

Jack blinked. That…made sense. He supposed. He mulled the answer over until he stumbled over 'reason you're alive'. He snapped his head around to look at the Time Lord. "You…you don't mean? Her? Rose? Really?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yes. Rose is the Bad Wolf."

"But…how?" It was unbelievable.

The Doctor brushed Harry's hair out of his face as he stared out over the water. "I sent her back to her own time, but Rose takes stubborn and rewrites the rules for it. She opened the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the Time Vortex. She was Time itself, the Bad Wolf, for minutes and eons. She was beautiful and terrifying and amazing." He smiled in remembrance. "I have no idea how she didn't die. I regenerated after taking it from her and I barely held it for half a minute."

"But…but, I mean, Bad Wolf was a virus!"

"Bad Wolf is also a bay in Norway, a failed power plant in Cardiff, the name of the Gaming Platform in 200,100, an old legend in Time Lord history, the creator of Destiny and the Child of Destiny, the name of several star systems in the Caspersian Belt in 4 Apple/K-098, the name of the first star ship ever to pass light speed and Rose Tyler, along with numerous other various things scattered about the Universe." The Doctor chuckled. "Beside the word 'impossible' in every dictionary should be a picture of Rose Tyler."

"So…when that woman said she was lost or misplaced or something, she was speaking of what exactly?" I thought she had come back or something."

Here the Doctor looked almost miserable. "I left her in Pete's world with my meta-crisis. He was partially human, he would grow old with her, they could have a family. I, I couldn't, not then. I never thought I would, ever. I couldn't give her a life, I thought, so she stayed with him. And I left."

Jack wanted to hit the Doctor with something hard but settled for glaring at him. He had forgotten how self depreciating the Time Lord could be. "What about Harry? He's your son, your child. He is your family now."

The Doctor didn't look up. "He was unexpected. I never thought I would ever have children. It wasn't possible on Gallifrey. Children were woven in batches. Once…once, long long ago I had children, before Pythia's Curse. Now though, now I have Harry. It's a privilege and an honor I never dreamt I would ever deserve.

Jack wondered, had wondered, where the Doctor had gotten Harry from. He was human, or he looked human, but what was so interesting about him that the Olympians had gone through such lengths for him? To snatch the TARDIS out of the Time Vortex just for a child that happened to be the son of a Time Lord? Now was as good a time to ask as any.

"Doctor, where did you pick Harry up?" he asked, hesitance in his voice. It wasn't something he had asked before and the Doctor hadn't offered answers, but under the circumstances, it was the safest topic to bring up in relation to Harry.

The Doctor lifted his eyes up to look at Jack, then out over the water, watching the gas giant dip below the horizon, revealing the soft, distant light of the binary star system. He was silent for a few moments.

"Harry was given to me after his family was killed," the Doctor finally said softly, resting a hand on Harry, the other propping him up on the sand. "There's this community all over Earth, a secret community of wizards and witches, those gifted with magic, an energy similar to Psionic energy but fundamentally altered to an extent that shouldn't be possible. But that's humans for you, always doing what the universe says shouldn't be. I think, somehow, something went wonky in your evolution and there were almost no hardwired physiological or psychological absolutes in your make-up. Besides your instinct to survive, there aren't any limits to the good or evil you can do. It's something I've never seen in any other sentient species. So many extremes in the same species, the same person. Every species that makes it to the stars has a drive, a desire to see more or to find more land or for any other number of reasons, but humans have a spark about them that is absent in so much of the Universe. It's why I love Earth so much, why I love humans so much."

Jack waited for more. When the Doctor hit these philosophizing moments, the question would be answered eventually, just maybe not in the way you thought.

"This community of magic users, these people who manipulated energy that shouldn't be within their grasp, were the last remnants of the Eternals. Not children exactly, but rather like a transplanting of their genes into the human genome structure. They chose a certain percentage of humans all over Earth, some 3.5% of them way back before you lot figured out how to use the wheel for anything significant, and transposed their genes into them. Half of them advanced dramatically, increase in knowledge, technology, became what we know now as the Immortals, _homo superior_. They were driven deep underground into hiding before the Roman Empire reached its height, but by then the other half had discovered their ability to manipulate the world around them. At first they made small communities of their own, interacted with the outside world, became holders of knowledge and power and emissaries to those in power. Merlin is one of the well known ones, before they retreated into their own communities, shutting off the normal world. Most of the Egyptian gods and goddesses were witches and wizards of amazing power. They worked alongside the Osirins to build the Egyptians into what they became."

Jack often forgot just how much the Doctor knew about history. About the history of anything, of everything. Earth, his favorite planet, was obviously his forte in this scenario. The Doctor brushed a hand against Harry's head.

"So, Harry comes from these wizards and witches? These magicals?"

The Doctor smiled slightly. "Yes. Harry was given to me in 1981, November 3rd to be precise. By then the wizarding world was in factions, separated by country much like their non-magical counterparts. In the U.K., a wizard who had dabbled too far into the darker sides of magic was terrorizing the entire community. It would have shown as terror attacks in non-magical Britain, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. You all probably had clean up from it." Jack nodded. He remembered a few odd clean up jobs in Cardiff and London that didn't seem alien on origin but had no other source.

"1970's?"

"Yes. In 1981, there was a prophecy that foretold the possible downfall of this wizard. It eventually ended up being Harry here. His parents were killed defending themselves and the wizard was reduced to a shade of himself. The leader of the resistance was an old acquaintance of mine and called me."

Jack blinked, looking rather astonished. "Called you? How? I tried for years, nothing."

The Doctor smiled. "I met Dumbledore not long after the end of the Time War and he gave me hope again. I gave him a device that he could use if he needed it. I never expected him to, he was a powerful, bright wizard. He did though, and he," The Doctor paused, half frowned. "He manipulated me rather handily into taking a small child with me. I was less than pleased with him and I'm sure I said some rather nasty things. I wasn't in my right mind. I wasn't even sure I was keeping Harry. What was I supposed to do with a child? Barely a toddler! I'm not qualified in any sense of the word."

Jack blinked. "You've done a good job with him so far. He's a remarkable child."

"I've had him for just over a year and he's been in the hands of monsters doing their best to play god with his body. The only reason I can even touch him is due to a gift given to me by a race that was obliterated hours later. What Harry is to me…I never thought I would have this again Jack. This responsibility of another soul relying on me completely. It isn't something I ever thought I would be given again."

"You have companions all the time," Jack pointed out. The Doctor looked at him pointedly.

"Companions that are old enough to survive on their own if left to their own devices in a time not their own with nothing but the clothes on their back. Not pleasantly, but they are old enough to find food, water, shelter. They rely on me for adventure, for excitement, for danger. For getting them out of that danger. They don't rely on me for bed time stories, for food and baths and new clothes, for hugs and kisses goodnight, for someone to play puzzles and drawing wars, for basic knowledge and speech and how to live. I've never had that responsibility, not in a long time. Not in a very very long time."

Jack's eyes went wide, understanding for probably the first time just how much Harry meant to the Doctor. He hadn't really thought about the Doctor's life, how companions fit in, how the Doctor saw them. To him, the Doctor was someone who would hold him accountable for his actions, who would give him a purpose, a reason, adventure. Someone interesting and different, a being of higher standing that he could look up to. To Harry, the Doctor was his dad, the person who tucked him in, who got him apples, who played games and gave him baths and made sure he was safe.

Everything that had happened to Harry on Olympus had severely damaged the Doctor's confidence in his ability to keep Harry safe and made Harry cling to his savior, his daddy, all the more. To Harry's mind, the Doctor had saved him, had kept him safe. To the Doctor, he had been too late, he had let Harry be taken and, for all intents and purposes, tortured. And he had to come to terms with that.

Jack was sure the complete obliteration of an entire race was also weighing heavily on his mind, but he wasn't about to venture into that dangerous territory at the moment.

Silence fell again as they watched the distant suns rise higher and higher in an erratic arc across the sky. Harry turned in his sleep, muttering against the Doctor's clothes and squirming. The Doctor's eyes went wide and he scooped Harry up close to him, holding him against his body as Harry began to cry, silent tears slipping down his face.

"Is that…is he having?" Jack asked, not quite able to finish the sentence. The Doctor nodded tersely.

"Yes. Get the TARDIS open, quickly. I don't want his magic to do anything out here."

"His magic lashes out? I thought his necklace bound it inside him?"

"It still reacts to extreme emotions. Even more so because of the empathy. The TARDIS does her best to sooth him but it isn't always enough. Quick Jack, get the door open. Please."

Jack started at the plea and dashed for the door, fumbling with the key but pushing it open in time for the Doctor to bundle Harry inside before he followed, shutting the door behind him. The Doctor was already halfway across the console room, heading for the far door and towards one of the unnamable rooms in the back of the twisting, turning hallway. Jack wondered if he was invited as well when it was made clear that he was needed.

"Jack! Come here, I need some help!" Jack didn't waste a second rushing across the floor and following the Doctor's footsteps.

They passed Harry's room, the kitchen, the medbay, even the play room until the Doctor nudged open a door with his foot.

The room beyond was empty of almost anything. All that was inside was a golden drop of glistening energy, suspended in perfect harmony with the room. Harry was silently crying and thrashing in the Doctor's arms. Jack stood beside, hands fluttering. He wasn't sure what to do, where he should be helping, why he was here. The Doctor looked at him with hopeless, pleading eyes. He understood then.

He wasn't here to help with Harry and his nightmare, he was here to help the Doctor grasp onto something. Something other than his child in pain.

"Is it…has it been a month Doctor?" They had discussed this not long after getting Harry back. The possibility of Harry's mental processes being overpowered by the effects of whatever was done to him. The Doctor nodded.

"Yeah. It's why he's like this right now. I brought him into the central matrix so the TARDIS can help with whatever she can. Harry has always had a special bond with her. The energy in this room is higher than anywhere else, even higher than what is in the console. If I had to be precise, this is the heart of the TARDIS, as close to the true heart as one can come. Most Time Lords never thought it existed. The central matrix of the TARDIS consciousness was considered a myth, but she lets Harry here and by default me and you."

Jack nodded. The Doctor had sagged against the door, now closed, Harry resting in his arms, fitfully turning and soundlessly opening and closing his mouth.

Now it was a waiting game, one neither of them wanted to play but, out of necessity, were unwilling participants.

~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~~

She could feel him, the small child who touched her walls and spoke to her in pictures and feelings and colors. His power was leaking all around him, surging and struggling, partially cut off from its freedom and now freer than it had ever been before.

It was in turmoil, in pain, not understanding what was happening and not sure what it should be doing. She soothed it with a soft touch, as if a skittish animal. It recognized her, and she directed it back towards the little boy it belonged to. It careened wildly around for a moment, confused, before it seemed to realize. It circled around its little owner for a moment.

She tried to show it the right path but she was blocked from the little one's power source beneath his skin. That necklace, which was confusing both his magic and her, was also keeping him safe. She could see him, talking to her, necklace in hand. She could see him, necklace laced around a neck much older than the one lying on her floor right now. He needed it, but he could also take it off, would take it off, will take it off, has taken it off.

The magic swirled around, touching the child, touching her Time Lord, who looked so frightened and unsure and scared for the child in his arms, touching the immortal human who loved her Time Lord and his child and her and was so very lost. Then it bathed the little one in a glow so bright before it sunk beneath the boy's skin.

It had settled at last. Her new child wouldn't have the nightmares he had been suffering from so often. They wouldn't be so damaging. He would be fine for the present. He would come back here when he was older and his magic much stronger and he wouldn't be so fine but right now this little one was okay.

It had taken her longer than she wished but little Harry was now sleeping peacefully. A deep, healing sleep. His magic would help restore some of the equilibrium he had lost during his nightmares and would sooth the mental wounds. His mind was still young, would come back from this painful encounter.

Her Time Lord was sitting against the wall, holding her little one close. She could feel his turmoil and gently soothed his soul. The Immortal with the flirty smile sat as close as he dared, resting a hand on her Time Lord's shoulder. For now her work was done. Her little child would be fine. Her Time Lord would heal. The Immortal would help, would find his way.

~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~~

Harry groaned and spasmed and the Doctor tried not to pull his small body any closer. It wasn't safe for Harry or himself. Harry needed the space and he couldn't restrict his movement. The results would be unpleasant. So he just held Harry's head in his lap, between spread legs. He felt Jack's hand on his shoulder, grounding him, and he smiled. He could do this. He could. He would.

The air began to move, whipping up into a furor around them. Colors sparked through, turning the wind into a kaleidoscope of color and wind. Harry's magic, spinning out of control. It was a feeling of helplessness that descended on the Doctor right now. He couldn't help in any way imaginable at all. He could just hold on and wait it out.

He watched the maelstrom and, to his astonishment, a trickle of vibrant gold spun through it, calming it. The magic responded to the intrusion and…_it stopped. _ It reacted like a confused puppy, unsure as to what to do, where to go.

The TARDIS, that's what the golden energy was, twirled around and circled Harry, resting near his center. The magic followed hesitantly.

It took a while, but eventually the TARDIS led Harry's magic back into him. The whirl of color and energy died down and Harry's twitching and moaning stopped. He curled up, sleeping now, thumb inching towards his mouth and expression peaceful.

The Doctor looked at Jack, who looked as relieved as the Doctor felt.

"Thank you old girl," the Doctor murmured, gathering Harry into his arms. He felt a tear slip down his cheek. "Thank you."

Jack opened the door and the Doctor walked out, carrying his small son with care and gentleness.

"Is he going to be fine now?" Jack asked, peering over his shoulder as they headed towards Harry's room. The Doctor looked at him.

"I won't know for sure until he wakes up, but the TARDIS helped him. I'm…I'm not quite sure how she helped, but I felt the Atron energy in that room."

Jack nodded. He had felt something aside from the chaotic energy swirling around him as well. Harry had finally managed to get his thumb to his mouth and it sat there, nothing more than a comfort of something familiar. Jack and the Doctor watched him fondly for a few moments, then the Doctor pushed open Harry's room and set the boy on the bed. Harry's hand closed around the Doctor's for a few moments, keeping him there, before Harry turned over and snuggled into the comforter.

Jack and the Doctor watched Harry sleep for several minutes before the Doctor abruptly turned and dragged Jack out. Jack nearly yelped.

"What? What is it?"

"Let Harry sleep. This is the first time in nearly a month he's slept by himself. The TARDIS will keep an eye on him. When he wakes up we'll know."

"But…but what if he gets nightmares again?"

"Jack…" The Doctor looked at Jack with pleading eyes. "Just…Harry will wake up and we'll deal with the results then. For now, let's just let him sleep and let me rest and try not to panic about my son possibly going insane. Please Jack."

The second time he had heard that word directed at him. Jack swallowed heavily and nodded. The Doctor looked at Harry's closed door once more, before he headed off towards the console room. Jack made to follow him, then hesitated. The Doctor's entire posture said 'Leave Me Alone'. He turned and rambled down the hallway instead. He would find something else to do for the moment. When Harry woke up he would find his way back to the console room.

~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~~

Harry yawned, sitting up. He was in his room, laying on his bed and under his blankets. His dad was nowhere to be seen. It wasn't as concerning as he thought it should be. Something heavy lay on his chest and he touched it.

The necklace his daddy put on him after the mean people touched his magic and changed it somehow. His daddy said he had to keep it on otherwise his head would hurt and his magic would be chaotic.

He was alone in his room, but he wasn't feeling that panic he felt before. He wanted to see his dad, but he didn't feel like his heart would jump out of him if he didn't. It was nice. He patted the wall of his room, thanking the TARDIS. She had helped him, he knew. He couldn't remember how, but she had helped his magic calm down and settle back inside him like it should be.

He shoved the blankets, the light-sensitive stars dimming as the room acknowledged he was awake and slowly brightened. He pushed open the door and out into the hallway. The TARDIS had placed the console room, where he could see his dad working, right down the hall. He shuffled towards it.

"Daddy? I'm up," he said, loud enough to let his dad know he was there but not shouting. He didn't like shouting. His dad's head shot up from under the floor and caught sight of him and before Harry could register his movement he was caught up in a hug and lifted off his feet.

"Harry! Harry, how are you feeling? Is your head alright? Is your magic okay? Do you feel funny? IS anything wrong? Do you see strange things? Can you taste sounds?" Harry blinked, hands going around his dad's neck.

"No, I'm alright. I'm not seeing anything weird. I'm hungry though. Can I have that cheesy stuff from Yj..yjrefv…" he struggled to pronounce the difficult name of the planet they had visited.

The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief. Harry was fine. For now, he was okay. Nothing was going wrong with his brain at the moment and he could breathe a little easier. Jack stood in the doorway, looking at them both with a smile on his face. The Doctor nodded minutely and the good Captain grinned all the wider.

Harry turned, hearing the footsteps behind him, and squealed. "Jack! Jack! I'm gonna eat cheesy stuff! Come on!" The Doctor and Jack laughed as Harry gestured towards the doorway towards the kitchen. The two adults indulged the toddler as Harry babbled at them.

With Harry awake, happy, and not currently adversely affected, they would leave the worry over Harry's future mental state to the future. For now, the two and a half year old would eat cheese and learn new things and be a happy child in what counted as normal for those who lived in the TARDIS, especially those who were raised in the TARDIS.

~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~~

Harry was three and his foray into the library was disconcerting for all those involved. Where before he would reach for the adventure books and stories of battles and heroes and magic from any and all cultures and races, he now found the science books and the math books and any other books that just had knowledge. It wasn't as if he ignored the adventures and magic and heroes and battles. It was just that he could often be seen with a science book as he was with the Adventures of Gyroish and the Meteor.

He also sat at the Doctor's side with the book, asking questions.

One of the early ones, "Daddy, what are all the elements on the periodic table?" resulted in Harry learning the extensive and extremely long list of elements by name. On Earth, Harry was told, they had discovered 215 elements before they made it any appreciable distance into space. In the Universe, there were 100 naturally occurring elements that nearly every race discovered after they became an active member of the space going community, mostly because the last ten or so elements every race discovered often had to be found outside their own planet because it wasn't naturally occurring where they lived.

The list of elements created by races throughout history was almost as extensive as the number of stars in a given galaxy. Harry nodded seriously as the Doctor had him memorize the one hundred naturally occurring elements and their basic properties. Then he ran and sang his alphabetized song to Jack in a warbly, three year old voice.

Jack watched Harry run to his coloring papers and markers with wide eyes, then turned to the Doctor. "Is this what you meant when you said his mental capacity would receive a boost? Cause it took me months of chemistry class to replicate what he just managed in four hours of listening to you."

The Doctor shrugged. "Partially. He's had an astonishing memory all on his own. Being so close to the time vortex all the time and having magic also helps. His own mental prowess is in part his own biological functions taking hold, part his access to knowledge and information and ability to facilitate his learning, and part the invasive procedures that took place on Olympus. Harry was brilliant before he was taken. I did some discreet scans while he was asleep, after his magic settled down, and re-evaluated just what they did to him." The Doctor watched Harry as he took the large chemistry book, balanced it against the wall and started drawing elements on his paper, spreading them around him with a frown of concentration on his face.

"What did they do? You weren't entirely forthcoming on the details," Jack said softly, not willing to draw Harry's attention. The Doctor speared him with a look.

"When they flooded Harry's brain with proteins, neurotransmitters and excessive levels of a compound I recall as 'Kisleverus', designed to stimulate growth and activity at a rate higher than any fully developed brain could handle, they added onto Harry's own genetic sequence which called for a massive amount of connections between the right and left hemispheres, a rapidly functioning hippocampus, a slow growing but increasingly thickening cortex. It almost tripled the rate Harry processes information at. It was one of the reasons I was worried for his mental stability. Human brains are not meant to process information at such a high rate, but Harry is young and change is accepted better when the brain is young and it can compensate for it. I hesitate to speculate how he will fare when he reaches puberty. Puberty that will most likely come very late."

Jack blinked at him. "What? Why?"

The Doctor's eyebrows rose in amusement. "The body takes precautions in its own way Jack. His brain will function at a very high level. With the flood of chemicals and transmitters and connections, it won't know when precisely to trigger the first stages of puberty. When it does, the hormonal imbalance in the body may, well, most likely will, cause severe mental imbalance that will have to be dealt with when it comes around."

"You can't do anything about it now? While he's still young enough to adapt?" Jack asked. The Doctor shook his head.

"No. Not without possibly damaging his cerebral cortex and his amygdale. Harry is well adjusted, puberty is more than a decade off for him. He's barely three, let him learn and grown and adapt to his own magic before we throw that stick at him. He'll be able to take it under advisement."

Jack sighed. "Harry got the luck of the draw, being raised by the most genius genius in the Universe. Most parents wouldn't even know where to start if their almost three year old came up and debated the merits of the periodic table with them."

The Doctor grinned widely at him. "I'm waiting for him to find the book of multi-dimensionality and the physics of tame/space travel. It's somewhere past the physics of light speed and the astrophysics books I picked up from the University of Kelgarro the 6th during the 4th Bountiful Human Empire."

Jack groaned. Harry's topics of conversation, when they weren't revolving around drawing wars and food choices or story books tales about heroes and magic, often outstripped his ability to participate in. And Harry wasn't much more than three. He dreaded to think of the upcoming years where Harry's topics of conversation started drifting towards the mathematical improbabilities and physics of time travel.

~~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~~

The TARDIS touched down and Harry raced out the door, grinning at the sight that met him. His three year old legs didn't carry him as far as he wanted to go as fast as he wanted to get there but bare feet did indeed touch soft grass.

The sky was blue, but that didn't really help him identify what planet they were on. After visiting the number of places he'd been, blue skies were among the more common sky colors. He had learned that was because of refraction and light waves. Green grass was also unhelpful. But the birds he could hear made him grin. It was easy to identify birds and animals from different places. And this was Earth.

"Daddy! We're on Earth!" The Doctor peered out of the TARDIS doors, smiling at his son.

"Really now? And you're missing shoes, I see. Any reason?"

Harry pouted. "I don't like shoes."

"You liked them well enough last time we landed," the Doctor reasoned. Harry shook his head in protest.

"I don't like them anymore. I like to feel the grass and the dirt."

The Doctor laughed but still slipped the small pair of shoes he was holding into his pockets. If necessary he could get Harry to put them on later.

Captain Jack Harkness slid out from behind him, his Jacket swishing with a flourish. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Uncle Jack! We're on Earth!"

Jack looked around, nodding in agreement. Earth was the clearest distinction for their current location. "Well then, do you know when we are?"

Harry frowned. "No. Not yet. I can't do that, not like daddy does."

"Pre-industrial, going by the lack of pollutants in the air. Probably early 1000's ACE, give or take. Might be off by a century. This time in Earth history is usually rather similar, to be honest."

Harry grinned, nodding, then ran off. He face-planted about fifteen feet later into a partially muddy road. "Found the road daddy, uncle Jack!"

"Did you find it with your face first or your feet?" the Doctor called back, unable to keep the grin out of his voice. Harry glared back at him.

"You should watch where you're going, young one. You might get hurt," a soft yet firm voice said from a bit down the road. Harry pushed himself to his feet, brushing off the dirt and frowning at the mud that caked his clothes. The Doctor and Jack both looked at the newcomer.

The Doctor's eyes went wide and he grinned manically. "Merlin? By the stars, you're Merlin, aren't you?" he babbled as he rushed over. "Harry, Jack come here!"

Harry quirked his head as he complied and Jack rolled his eyes. "Yes daddy?"

"Harry, meet Merlin, foremost wizard of the Middle Ages and…oh, wait, are you called Merlin just yet? I'm not quite sure?"

The man, dark haired with a beard just beginning to get a touch of white, looked at him in amusement. "Sir, I have been Merlin for most of my life, but it is not a name I am known by. Emrys, I believe, is what people call me. Though you have the interesting fortune to know Merlin first."

The Doctor grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah, well, times, years, never get them right. Harry, come meet Emrys."

Harry peered up at the much taller man, looking at the staff in his hand with curious eyes. "Who's Emrys? Or Merlin?" he asked. The Doctor looked askance and even Jack chuckled as he eyed the wizard with bright eyes. If he wasn't so certain this wizard could turn him into a toad with a look, he might have said something suggestive.

"I've never told you about Merlin? What am I thinking? Wizard child, never told about the greatest wizard in history, I must be mad!"

Emrys smiled, though there was a bit of confusion to the expression. "Sir, I am afraid you know my name but I am afraid I don't have the same knowledge. If you could…"

"Oh, oh, right, yes. Of course, what was I thinking? I'm the Doctor, this is Harry and that's Jack Harkness. Don't let him get to you, he does it to everyone."

Jack glared, but held out a hand for Emrys with a suggestive smirk. Emrys stared at it for a moment, a bit perplexed, then grasped Jack's forearm. Jack blinked and Harry giggled.

"They don't shake hand here uncle Jack," he was informed.

"Ah, I see. Well, that explains a lot. Hello, I'm Captain Jack Harkness." He flashed a winning smile, holding onto the wizard's hand for longer than was probably necessary.

The Doctor rolled his eyes again. He felt like doing that a lot when Jack was around. Emrys smiled at him. Blue eyes sparkling in amusement.

"Well, Captain Jack Harkness. You are rather forward. Mayhaps a drink before you leer at me so." Jack grinned all the wider.

"Sure. Pick a time and a pl-"

"Jack, enough. Not now."

"Aw, come on. We're not running from danger and it isn't like he isn't interested!" Jack protested. The Doctor looked pointedly between him and Harry, who was watching with wide eyes, and Jack coughed. "Oh, um, alright. Later then. I guess." He backed off a bit and Emrys grinned. Jack sighed but he would rather not anger the Doctor by flirting in front of his child. Harry learned things way too quickly.

"Now that your overly friendly uncle is indisposed for the moment, young Harry, your father says you are a wizard. How amazing, that one so young can be so sure, especially when their parent has no such magic."

He looked at the Doctor, who shrugged. "He's not my biological son but he's mine to raise. His birth parents were magical, if that's the answer you're searching for." Emrys nodded, satisfied. Then he looked back at Harry.

"Well, little one, what sort of things do you do? Young children often exhibit signs of accidental magic and it is a sign of how powerful they are in how often or how young they start."

Harry tilted his head. "You mean the colorful sparkles right? The stuff that I used to make my toys out of." Emrys blinked.

"You…you can control it?" he asked, sounding disbelieving. Harry shook his head.

"Not anymore. I have to wear this," he touched the necklace. "Otherwise my head hurts and I can't touch anyone. But it means that the magic is stuck inside too."

Emrys reached out a hand and gently touched the golden loops lying on Harry's chest, fingers light and curious. He frowned, brow furrowed, as he let his own power explore the metal underneath his hand. He looked up, concerned, at the Doctor. "You know this strange necklace is restricting his magic, trapping it inside his body. It isn't healthy for such a young magic user to have their power restrained so, I wouldn't know what it would do. It could be devastating to his growth or it could implode, destroying his core. It isn't safe to have him wear it."

The Doctor's eyes darkened. "He doesn't have a choice. He cannot remove it, not until he has iron control over his magic and even then it would be better for him to keep it on." Harry looked between his dad and this stranger who was kneeling in front of him. Then he looked at Jack, eyes wide. He clearly understood some of what was being said and it scared him.

"I don't wanna implode daddy," he said softly. The Doctor's face looked stricken for a moment and he glanced at Emrys.

Emrys frowned. "Why do you wear this necklace, little Harry?" he asked softly.

Harry looked at him, green eyes wide and face this side of scared. "Bad people did bad things to me. They made it so I feel everyone else if I touch them without my necklace on. It makes my head hurt really bad and then I pass out."

Emrys looked grave. "Then it would be unwise to ask you to remove the necklace permanently wouldn't it? Yes, it would." He nodded, looking Harry in the eyes. "Little Harry, I may be able to help alleviate some of the burden you bear, for a time. You are still too young, your magic still too wild, to be taught properly, but when you are of age I may be able to help you more. For now, I can add to the protections of this strange little necklace, allow your magic to have some freedom within your body rather than be restricted to your core." Harry looked at his dad.

"Is…is that alright daddy?" he asked. The Doctor looked at Emrys, eyes sharp.

"What exactly would you be doing to him? I…I can't risk his mental stability to a spell I cannot understand properly. I know the workings of the necklace, the electromagnetic biodampener, the psionic loop-back circuits, the negativity field. What would you be adding to it?"

Emrys raised an eyebrow, smiling. "I'm afraid most of those words don't make any sense to me, but what I am doing is simple in essence if complicated in application. I am merely finding the part of the…mechanism? that restricts little Harry's magic and applying a small, almost unnoticeable enchantment that balances the power between Harry's body and his core. His magic would stay underneath his skin rather than cycling around his body in a constant loop of energy as is common but it would be enough to lessen the pressure that will build up over the years. Magic is not meant to be restrained in such a way, though I can understand why, if it is so damaging to Harry to not wear the necklace."

The Doctor nodded, hand running through his hair, crosswise over his chest. "So you would be using your magic to create a balancing force between Harry's core and his body while still allowing the necklace's properties as a means of restraining such energy to function properly." Emrys nodded, eyebrow raised in amusement.

"For one who has no magic you speak very knowledgeably about it."

The Doctor grinned, waving a hand about. "Ah, that's me, know a bit about a lot of things. And it's helpful to know about magic, considering Harry here."

Harry looked between Emrys and his dad. "So…you're gonna make it so my magic doesn't stay inside the ball inside me anymore? Cause it really doesn't like that."

Emrys looked slightly off-put. "You know about your core? Can you find it?"

Harry nodded. "It's right here, almost where my heart is, just below it." Harry tapped on his chest. Emrys frowned, stroking his small but well kept beard.

"That is a bit of a surprise, and will actually make this much easier to do that I expected." He looked at the Doctor. "If I have your permission of course, Doctor."

The Doctor nodded, crouching down so he could be on their level, eyes scrutinizing everything. "Yes, I just want to make sure you don't mess with the specific mechanisms that keep Harry safe." He held out the Sonic Screwdriver. "This shouldn't interfere with anything you're doing." Emrys nodded.

"Alright, Harry, if you could take my hand. I have to be touching you for this to work, alright?" Harry held out a small hand for Emrys to take. "And I will also need to touch the necklace. This won't do anything, will it?" The Doctor shook his head. "Now, Harry, I am going to send a small amount of my magic through your hand. You'll feel something strange but that's okay. It won't hurt. If you can help that magic to your core I shall work on the enchantment."

Harry nodded. "Okay. You feel really buzzy. Like a bee. It hums all around you. Tickles a lot. Is that what magic is?" Harry stared at him with those wide, curious, green eyes that saw far more than they should. Emrys managed a nod, unable to keep the astonishment from flickering across his face. "Ok. I can show you. It's this way." Harry's tongue poked out between his lips as he stared intently at the ground and Emrys felt his power being tugged towards the boy's core. He would keep his comments to himself, to tell the boy's father when they were done. For now he would concentrate on finishing his task. It would take concentration to work this tiny, complex enchantment.

When he could feel the magic swirling and pulsing like an angry wolf or wild cat inside the contained sphere. He slipped a pulse of his power inside and started to expand the core's outer edges, this artificial barrier that was placed by the necklace. It needed to trace the inside of Harry's body rather than remain around the core. He worked on the necklace, shifting the enchantment inside the layers of strange, foreign power until he could settle the expansion and strength enchantment within the heart of the mechanism. Then he worked at the bubble. Harry's magic started to swirl outside the core, tentative and curious, then, when it realized what Emrys was trying to do, it eagerly leapt to help and Emrys took advantage of the offer of power. He would ponder its impossibilities later.

Soon this shell was pressed against the inside of Harry's entire body and his magic swarmed through it, pleased and excited and whizzing around. Emrys quietly withdrew his power and swayed a bit. Jack stabilized him as Harry blinked, before grinning widely.

"I can feel it again! My magic! It's there!" Harry held out his hands and twisted them in a peculiar pattern and Emrys watched in startled amazement as the boy broke the rest of the rules of magic he knew existed. A small, swirling set of spheres began to rotate in the air, around each other and twining between each other. It wasn't nearly as expansive as the ones Harry had created before, but just seeing him set a binary star system and another star, both with planets, to rotate at impossible angles made the Doctor's heart soar. Jack smiled and watched it with awe. The Doctor grinned.

"Well, I must offer my thanks, though that really isn't enough for what you just did for me, for Harry, for us. I, I worry, because I can't do anything about Harry's magic, I don't fully understand how it works and I don't know how it affects Harry. You just made life a lot easier. So thank you, Emrys Merlin." The Doctor dragged the wizard to his feet and hugged him tightly. "Thank you."

Emrys patted the man's back, unsure of what to do, until he was released. "It wasn't all me, if I must be honest. Your son is an impossibility amongst magicals. His own magic, acting on instinct, helped me work the enchantment and there should be no way that could happen. He is an exceptional child. When he is slightly older I would love to be able to teach him some things."

The Doctor blinked, puzzled. "Why would you not be able to teach him now?"

Emrys shook his head. "Despite the astonishing rate at which his magic learns and adapts, to teach him how to use it now would be restraining the natural paths one's own magic takes and setting it on a directed course. He wouldn't be able to create such things on a whim. To impose rules and structure on young people damages their creativity to some extent. It would be almost unnoticeable in most people but I am afraid with Harry here it might cause a lot of problems. It is why magic is taught only to those who have reached the age of eleven or older. They can handle the structure, they need it by then. Harry can come and see me when he's about eight. That would be best, considering his strange magic. To make sure it isn't wild and uncontrollable. There are serious downsides to having so much power and lack of control is one of them."

The Doctor nodded, eyes watching Harry who was showing off to Jack. Harry had twirled the miniature solar system around and was telling Jack their names and what they did. Jack was listening with as much rapt attention one could muster when one didn't understand everything being said but they still wanted to understand..

Jack looked up at the Doctor, quirking an eyebrow as if asking 'Everything Okay?' The Doctor nodded and Jack smiled before returning all his attention to Harry and his explanation as to what exactly these two planets were doing orbiting two separate star systems. Jack might have been having so much trouble because Harry was blatantly ignoring all the laws of physics he knew, but that didn't stop him from paying close attention.

"So, I can bring Harry back when he's eight?" The Doctor finally asked. Emrys nodded.

"Yes." Emrys looked at him closely. "Preferably five years from now and not tomorrow, if you can manage that?"

The Doctor laughed, clapping a hand on Emrys' shoulder. "You are a sharp one. What gave it away? Most don't believe in time travel."

Emrys smiled. "I was the bane of most of my teachers for a year when I shattered Professor Ravenclaw's time ring and aged backwards for the better part of a year. I also heard stories of a Doctor and a boy with too much magic and a captain who couldn't keep his hands to himself and a golden beam of time that shone through the eons. They traveled in a blue box that had wonders beyond imagination inside. I assume that would be the blue box over there," Emrys said, pointing off in the distance. The Doctor nodded.

"You are perceptive, aren't you. And you have a good memory. Well then, I will do my best to make it in five years your time. Best I can." Emrys clasped the Doctor's outstretched forearm.

"Then I shall await your coming with interest. Harry would be a delight to instruct in the basics of magic. I am sure he will be a most troublesome student." Emrys looked at the young boy who was now chasing after butterflies and sunbeams and chattering at Jack about elements and chemistry and swerving into higher mathematics. "He is, after all, the son of an alien and nephew to an immortal."

Emrys tipped his head at the Doctor's wide, astonished look and went to say his goodbyes to little Harry and Jack. The Doctor stood and gaped after him. He had to stop underestimating people sometimes. He really did.

Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up into the bright blue eyes of Emrys. He smiled, a flash of white teeth and Harry let his magic galaxy collapse as he spun around. "Emrys! You're leaving now, right?" he asked.

Emrys nodded. "Indeed child I am. But we will meet again sometime, so don't worry. And I'll be able to teach you some magic as well."

Harry's eyes went wide. "Really? For truth, right?"

Emrys laughed. "Yes, honestly. When you are eight years old I shall see you again." Harry smiled and spun on the spot.

Then Emrys looked at Jack, a smile dancing on his face and eyes grinning. "You, captain, I shall also meet again. Next time I would prefer a round of drinks before you try and make use of your charm. You might get further."

Jack's grin stretch from ear to ear. "You're on. Five years from now I'm buying."

Emrys nodded and Jack restrained the urge to whoop. Then Emrys turned to the Doctor. "I'll be seeing you then, Doctor. I look forward to the day."

"Ah, yes, me as well. Though you have some things to do in the interim. A princeling to train and such." Emrys nodded.

"Indeed. I suspect it will be an interesting five years. I shall see you again then, Doctor, Harry, Captain. For now, I bid farewell."

Emrys nods to each of them before he turns and sets off down the path they had stopped him on. The Doctor, Jack and Harry watched him go before Harry turned to the Doctor.

"So, are we gonna stay here longer then or are we gonna leave? Cause I liked the castle!"

The Doctor smiled. "Well then Harry, how about we go see the castle then? It should be the other way from Emrys, right?" He pointed vaguely in a direction. Jack and Harry followed after him, one squealing and running with glee the other excited. Something interesting to do. "Allonzy!"

~~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~~

Emrys smiled to himself as he approached the gates of Camelot and his future pupil, Arthur Pendragon, son of Uther Pendragon and heir to the throne. He would certainly be looking forward to little Harry's arrival. He would use Arthur as a template for some of his possible lessons.

A wheezing, groaning noise came from behind him and he turned, curious but already suspecting what the noise came from. He watched in amusement as a blue box materialized and couldn't keep back the chuckle as a head of black hair followed by startling green eyes popped out the door. They landed on him and a frown etched its way across Harry's now older face.

"Dad! I think you got the time wrong!"

"He did, little Harry. I believe you yourself are merely three leagues away from your current position. I left you barely three hours ago."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Always getting the settings wrong, he is. DAD! You messed up again! We just left him! Have you fixed the time-" The door slammed shut before he could hear any of the rest of the comment but he chuckled none the less.

This would be an interesting child to teach, he could see that now. He watched the blue box blink out of existence before he turned back towards Camelot.

Now off to see an unruly princeling and his uptight father. This would be an adventure in itself.

~~~~~~~This is an Ending~~~~~~~~

Hey! No reason to stone me with words this time round, yes? I rather like this chapter, I got to do a lot of explaining and fixing and setting up and everything!

I do apologize for the lateness. The past few days have been hectic. The next few things put up will be side stories, especially since the next chapter will have Harry two years older. I have some stories I want to have told that aren't nearly as expansive as these main chapters but are still important. I'll have them up soon. ^_^

Replies: (there are a lot of guest reviews….so I will respond to them and hope that, if there was something specific, you can pick yourself out!)

Guest: ! YES UPDATE! There will be side stories put up soon! Thank you!

How/Guest: cause, well…I hope this chapter made up for it! In some small way at least, I hope. ^_^' No need to hunt me down, yes?

Aww/Guest: I know, they aren't very nice, are they? Thank you for enjoying it!

Guest: Voldie really doesn't know, does he? It will be an interesting first confrontation! The Doctor and Jack will be there for Harry when he needs them! It will become much more important as he gets older. Thank you so much! I'm glad the Doctor and Jack seem mostly in character! It's one of the hardest parts about writing fanfiction!

Anonymous: Thank you! I know it was painful but I'm glad you saw that part I was trying to get across! I hope this chapter was definitely less painful for you!

SeanHicks4: No problem! I always make an attempt to reply to reviews, even if it is in the chapter itself! I got that comment a lot! I didn't quite realize it until after the first review that mentioned the parallel, but it does make a lot of sense in that perspective. I love Firefly so much so….Thank you though!

Helenwhogirl: Yes, there will be a definitive difference in how Harry uses his magic and even after this chapter's solution there will be a lot Harry won't be able to do with as much ease as he could have possibly done so before. There will be some mental training with the Doctor at some point. Thank you!

Thank you guys so much! All of you! I love hearing from you all and everything!

Kuroi


	9. In Which There are Interesting Finds

Hey! Ugh, I apologize for the long long wait for this chapter. I've been so behind on everything. I don't even have much of a decent excuse as to why this is so late. I mena, up until a week ago I had a mostly functioning laptop. Now it's in pieces on the dining room table waiting to be put back together but….*sigh* And all of you who are now reading and getting ready to enjoy this should bow to the master of soldering and fixing electronic parts that is my roommate cause I broke my thumb drive that had all of this on it the other day, right before I was going to post it. Then he took it, soldered wires onto it and made some conglomeration of electronic things that recovered all of my stuff. So that's why this is here now and not being completely rewritten after I bash my head into a wall.

As to all my awesome reviewers who I haven't replied to, those will be replied to soon. Now that I have updated my story I no longer will want to go and cry in a corner after reading another "update soon please!" and remembering my total lack of writing motivation. .

This is very much a transition/learn some interesting things chapter. It is a set up for one of my favorite chapters that I feel much better about fixing up and posting really soon. Now that University has started, I need to partition my time that much better. Yay for planning things? (or yay for taking 18 hours, having a job (sorta) and wanting to read and write for pleasure and not just for class?)

~~~~This is a Beginning~~~~~

The TARDIS landed with a soft WHUMP and Harry jumped out of his chair and raced for the doors. A new place and all the excitement that heralded the possibility of exploration always had him excited.

The Doctor watched as his son, now five years old and possibly in possession of a number of semi-working devices that would be illegal in any number of systems, bound towards the door, excitement in his steps.

"Oi, Harry! Don't forget your shoes! And leave The Astrophysics of Sub-Quantum Travel here! It's the last copy I've got left!" Harry rolled his eyes but set the book down on his chair and trotted over to a far wall where his shoes were.

"I wouldn't have ruined it Dad! Besides, what if I wanted to read it? Now I have to come all the way back to get it!"

"Yes, well, you never know what's outside the door. Better safe than sorry. You can come back and get it if you want. The TARDIS is a safer place for it." Harry sighed at his father but slipped his Air Treaders on then bounded for the door. Despite the necessity of leaving his book behind his excitement hadn't dipped.

Harry opened the door, still short enough that he had to reach up to get to the handle, and peered outside. Then he looked back at his dad. "Why is there a Judoon Platoon outside the TARDIS dad? Judoon Platoon…" he repeated, amused by the word combination. From outside they could hear the thunder of the Judoon. "THOSE WITHIN THE CAPSULE REMOVE YOURSELF FOR JUDGEMENT!"

The Doctor smiled widely. "Why, because we're at the Shadow Proclamation! Though they should recognize the TARDIS…I mean…oh, wait, that's 200 years from now. Whoops. In any case, the Judoon! Guards of the Shadow Proclamation! The TARDIS has full access anywhere, just need to clear some things up then off we go!"

Harry groaned. "But the Shadow Proclamation! Why? There's got to be a better planet or something! I hate governments! And the Proclamation is so boring!" Harry hated boring things. This was a thing the Doctor knew most acutely. He could only blame himself though. He avoided anything boring with the skill of a seasoned summer camper, and governments, when they weren't being perfidious, were rather boring.

And Jack, Harry's best distraction tool that wasn't liable to blow something up if the wrong button was pressed (mostly), was back in 21st century Earth trying to deal with the lack of presence at the rift. It was something that he had agreed, reluctantly, needed to be dealt with. So the Doctor had dropped him off and given him the TARDIS's number and supercharged his phone. Now he had to hope Jack didn't lose the phone, otherwise he would just have to make a guess as to when to show up. Harry would never forgive him if he didn't go get Uncle Jack back.

Still, now there was a sullen five year old who really didn't want to be here that he had to convince, somehow and against a stubborn nature, that this was actually a worthwhile trip. And talk a squad of temperamental and trigger-happy Judoon into allowing him to park the TARDIS here. The latter was definitely going to be easier.

"They have some of the best labs outside of highly restricted time-locked loops," the Doctor pointed out.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "And? The TARDIS has better labs so long as no one's left the dishes in the sink."

"And they have the largest and most complete Library this side of the Balthesian Galaxy and with more restricted books than The Library."

Harry sighed but the Doctor could see his eyes light up with excitement. "Fine. Just...just go talk to the police out there, will you?"

The Doctor grinned. "Alrighty! Get ready to see the Shadow Proclamation Harry. It's rather spectacular!"

Harry raised his eyebrow. "I'll hold judgment until evidential proof," he said wryly. The Doctor laughed.

"Allonsy!" The Doctor strode out the TARDIS doors and straight into the middle of a squad of Judoon all pointing various weapons at the blue box.

"WHO ARE YOU? IDENTIFY YOURSELF! YOU ARE ON THE PREMISES OF THE SHADOW PROCLAMATION WITHOUT PERMISSION. WHO ARE YOU?"

The Doctor held up placating hands. "Not here to do anything illegal. Just a visitor, got a permit and everything. No need for violence." The Judoon didn't move and the weapons remained pointed at the Doctor.

Harry, who was listening inside the TARDIS, sighed, then grinned widely. Well, who said he couldn't mess things up.

The group of rather tall and intimidating Judoon were surprised when a small, black haired child raced between them and the Doctor, green eyes glaring at them.

"WHO ARE YOU?" was the introduction from the Judoon leader. Harry looked directly at the leader.

"Harry. And I'm fairly certain that the TARDIS has permanent access to the Shadow Proclamation whenever it wants. There's a plaque that says so and everything."

The Judoon leader blinked, about as confused as a Judoon could look. "I AM NOT AWARE OF ANY PLAQUE," he said, voice booming.

Harry shook his head. "Doesn't mean there isn't one. Go look it up in whatever regulation book you all use for these things." And, as the Judoon leader did just that, Harry raced between the gaps in the surrounding Judoon and vanished down a hallway.

The whole encounter passed rather quickly and the Doctor didn't have enough time to grab his son before Harry disappeared and his vision was filled with an irate Judoon.

"WHO WAS THAT? WHERE IS HE NOW? IF THE CHILD IS YOURS YOU WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ANY MISCHIEF HE COMES TO." The Judoon leader was not impressed. The Doctor sighed. Now he would have to find his wayward charge before Harry got into any trouble. Though knowing Harry he was already in trouble.

"I'll find him before he does. Can I leave my TARDIS here?"

"YOU MAY. SOME OF MY PLATOON WILL GUARD IT WHILE WE FIND YOUR CHILD. IT IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR A CHILD TO WANDER AROUND THE SHADOW PROCLEMATION WITHOUT GUARDIANSHIP."

The Doctor nodded. "Alright. Let's go." He hoped Harry hadn't managed to get into something already.

The hallway Harry vanished down was windy and long. The Doctor, escorted by the over-sized rhino-esque police force, contemplated what Harry could have possibly gotten into. The list was sizable.

"IT IS AGAINST THE LAW OF THE SHADOW PROCLAMATION TO HAVE ANY VISITOR WANDER WITHOUT A PROPER ESCORT. YOUR CHILD IS IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW." The Doctor sighed.

"As if I didn't have enough problems with him on my own. Now he's gone and gotten the important people angry at him." He quickened his pace and rounded the corner. And there was Harry, a small cylindrical device in one hand, standing in front of a locked and id-required door and staring resolutely at a tall, pale woman with red rimmed eyes and pale hair. By the sudden halt and the Judoon equivalent of a salute, the Doctor deduced that she was in charge of the Shadow Proclamation, and she was currently locked in a battle of wills with a five year old. A very stubborn five year old, but a five year old nonetheless. The Doctor huffed back a laugh, then cleared his throat. The woman looked up.

"And who might you be?" Her imperial tone was impossible to mistake. Harry frowned.

"That's my dad." The woman looked down at Harry, then back up at the Doctor.

"And would you be willing to explain to your child, then, that trying to break into top-security offices with a sonic device is strictly against the rules." The Doctor shrugged.

"Sure, though I bet it'll do as much good as you explaining it. He doesn't seem to care. Though where did you get a sonic screwdriver? Mine's still in my pocket." He felt for it to be sure. It was still there.

Harry grinned mischievously. "Made it. Not as good as yours but it works. it isn't blowing things up."

"So that would be why the entire network of Graticoria went down the last time we were there?" Harry actually looked guilty.

"Well...maybe...I mean, I hadn't got it working right yet, it just...sorta...made the main processing unit...implode?" he added hesitantly.

The Doctor cradled his head in his hands. "What have I told you about not messing with the operating systems of planets? Anything?Really?"

"Not to touch them unless, in the process of manipulating the basic code, you are saving someone's life or removing a threat or the newest recipe for anything related to bananas comes on line." It was a memorized and oft used sentence. Harry didn't sound remotely interested in actually following it.

"Correct. Blowing up a computer system just because the game you were playing freezes in not an acceptable reason. Ever." Harry sighed, hands not hanging by his side. The Judoon and the pale woman were both blinking in astonishment, then the woman hid a smile.

"I can see that we have a small troublemaker here. There are stipulations for causing trouble inside the Shadow Proclamation but since this is your first offense and your father has explained proper procedures for your actions I suppose I can offer you clemency. And since this is your first visit, I can give you the guided tour of the main chambers, if you would like."

The Doctor looked up eagerly. "Really? You could? But I thought no one was ever allowed to see inside them, not unless they were on trial...we're not on trial, are we? I mean, I know I parked the TARDIS beside the plants, maybe not the best spot, but really, it's not all that bad..." the woman shook her head.

"No, not on trial. Just a tour for an interesting visitor on a rather slow day. Since there isn't anything pressing going on and Harry here was adventurous enough to try and break through the bio-locked door to what was merely a simple computer hub, taking some time out to show you the Proclamation isn't a hardship. Though I am curious. What kind of transport is shaped small enough to appear inside the Proclamation?"

"Ah, well, it is a rather trans-dimensional ship. Smaller on the outside and all." The Doctor rubbed a hand through his hair, the looked at Harry, who was still standing in front of the pale leader. "Alright, Harry, hand please. And the screwdriver. No need for you to get tempted."

Harry glared at his dad. "No. It's mine, I made it. Mine." His hand immediately clutched the device to him. "Mine."

A sigh."Fine then." A slim hand pulled out another sonic device, which the Doctor pointed at his son and turned on. The small object in Harry's hand fizzed, sparked, then went inert. "Now you can keep it. Alright, Allonsy everyone!"

Harry stared at the now useless piece of technology in his hands. Then he sighed. Of course his dad wouldn't let him keep it, not unless he could stabilize the sonic frequencies to not backfire and explode things when anything louder than five decibels was in the two meter range. Which usually meant it always exploded. He tucked the bit of metal and wiring into his pocked at left, following his dad. He would sneak into the computer terminal later. He didn't need a sonic device for that. He could do it all on his own. Maybe. Or he could snitch a key card or something. He smiled. That would work.

"Alright then, Squad Leader Skorix, if you could return to your unit and inform them of the change in plans, that the Doctor's blue box, it is a blue box correct? That his box remain where it is parked? Thank you. Then you may catch up with us near the science laboratory."

~~~~~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~~~

The tour started out with Harry being firmly lead where they were going by the Doctor, who didn't let the small hand go. Harry sulked for a few moments at this, but brightened up considerably when he learned they were heading to the science and technology room. He never said no to toys and gadgets and gizmos.

The room that was, supposedly, the technology and research laboratory was little more than storage. Harry glared accusingly at the Doctor. "You promised me high end laboratories! This is a storage closet!" Harry gestured around with his free hand, his other one held tightly by his father to make sure he didn't run away again.

Sure, the architecture was grand, it was a government building, but there was mostly just various containers with labels and strange items poking out of the top. A few tables were scattered around and some equipment but no one else was around. A few doors were leading off in different directions but they weren't allowed to go through any of them.

"Our higher end research laboratories are beyond the doors. Unfortunately there are delicate experiments taking place and I am not allowed to let you into them."

"Well that's no fun," Harry moaned.

The Doctor looked at his son. "This is the Galactic Government, Harry. I don't think fun is on the menu." He glanced quickly up at the pale woman. "No offense, I just mean, well, it's the government. They're just not very interesting, really, that's all I'm saying…" The woman smiled.

"I am sure you see it that way. You are not in government, are you?"

The Doctor scratched his head. "Ah, well, I was President twice, didn't like it much, ditched as quick as you like, courted a couple royals, that never ended well. Even sat in on a few decision meetings among the Helfariiys. Not the most decisive race, they are." The woman raised a pale eyebrow.

"You are an interesting person, aren't you Doctor. May I ask, what species are you?Humanoid, obviously." The Doctor pulled a face.

"Ah, well, you see, well, big war, end of the universe stuff, things happen. It's not important." He trailed off. The woman stared at him intensely.

The Judoon took the lull in speech to add a comment. "THE CHILD SPOKE OF A TARDIS, YOUR REGENCY. I RECALL A MYTH OF THOSE WHO POSSESSED SUCH THINGS." Red eyes widened dramatically.

"I thought as much...but you are a myth a legend. You shouldn't exist..." The Doctor grimaced again.

"See, this is why I don't tell you people what I am. You all get all flustery and bothered and such, and we were having such a nice tour too. Really, please, can we move on?" The woman raked her eyes over him once more, then looked at Harry.

"Is he also….?"

"No, no, he's human. Human humanhuman, well, human living in a TARDIS, but human." He grinned widely. "Come on, things to do, lessons to learn, laws to memorize." He sent a look at Harry at this last one. The child grinned unrepentantly up at him.

Despite this new revelation, the tour did continue. Harry, after the dismal revelation of the scientific laboratories and the firm dismissal of seeing the actual labs, was as unhappy to be here as the first time they landed and he realized where they were. He was sullenly holding the Doctor's hand as they headed down endless corridor after endless corridor. This was why he didn't like governments. They never did anything fun and interesting, they usually had crappy buildings meant to be impressive and more often than not they were corrupt. The Regent was showing them room after room but most of them were offices of various officials, a few computer labs that he peered at but realized that their technology was rather out of date and sighed, disappointed, and a room with quite a few monitors that had his father really excited. The Doctor managed to push a number of buttons and watch the screens flick on with a series of different pictures before the Regent frowned at him and the Doctor laughed, heading back to Harry.

Harry had taken the opportunity to snitch the sonic screwdriver out of his dad's pocket. Jack had taken some time to show him how to pick pocket. It came in handy. Now he could get into those computer terminals. He just had to wait. And endure the endless, oppressive architecture of the Proclamation.

When they reached the central room, he had to take his previous assessment back, if only because the large dome over the room was crystal, and therefor see-through, and the stars burned brightly over him. He grinned, twirling a finger through the air and tracing the various designs with bright gold sparks. This was a much better room. Large, open, glamorous, and beautiful with the full view of the stars started dotting the air in front of him, marking out constellations and galaxies and worlds.

At this new development, the Doctor sighed. Of course Harry would do something absurd and impossible and he would get them into trouble before they really did anything trouble worthy, seeing as how Harry didn't actually break into the computer hub. The magic sparks that he was tracing through the air had caught the eye of the Regent and the Judoon, who were staring at the boy with something akin to wonder and confusion.

"Doctor, who is this child?" And again the questions began.

"He's human, just of a different gene sequence. It gifts him and his people with the ability to manipulate energy." The wide eyes were back. "Harry, stop it, please. Just for now."

Harry looked up at his dad, confusion in his eyes. The Doctor pointed at the Regent and the Judoon and Harry sighed before letting the streaks of gold fade away.

"Why do I always have to not use my magic? It's not like I'm doing anything harmful."

The Doctor sighed. "You're worse about getting into trouble than almost anyone else. How do you manage it?"

"Me? What about you? You got Uncle Jack sent to prison! I just make sparkles and animate paper airplanes!"

"And rip holes in the void and screw with timelines and all the other stuff that's gotten you in trouble.

Harry shrugged. "Hey,that was fun. Don't knock it."

"If you could tell me what you were doing, child, I would appreciate it." The Regent had spoken up, and Harry flicked his eyes toward her.

"I was tracing the stars. Making different designs and pictures. I didn't finish though." He shurgged.

"So it was just fun?"

"Yeah, well, yeah. Nothing harmful."

"Wait until he tries messing with the continuum again. Then say it's all fun and games," the Doctor muttered under his breath. Harry pouted at him.

~~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~

After the scene in the main chambers, the Regent had led them in contemplative silence to the library. Then she left them there, giving them free reign to look at what they wanted as she wandered off to consult her history texts.

Harry stared at the large library, eyes wide. Books, books, lots and lots of books. They soared up the side in spiraling spires and around corners and through archways and every other way imaginable. Some were in the crevices under staircases, creating an illusion of a stair case literally made of books, some were held in suspended animation in specific locations, special books that were held in high regard and needed special permission to access. He was sure there was a gravity pad somewhere that kept books on the ceilings. He smiled widely. Now this was awesome.

He raced down a corridor and grabbed three or four books off the shelf at random, then plopped down in the middle of an aisle and peered at them._History of the Shadow Proclamation, 1__st__ GalacticWar to the 2__nd__Galactic War._ Nice. He set that to the side. _Myths and Legends of the Shadow Proclamation_.Another interesting one._History of Klum._ Not interesting. Whenever his dad was teaching him a new language they would use _History of Klum_ to work on translating because it contained 90% of the most commonly used spoken words. It didn't make the book any better though. He set it to the side.

The next book in the stack was a plain, unnamed beige hard-back but Harry had been taught not to judge a book by its cover, the best ones weren't always the flashy ones. He flipped to the front page, looking for a title, when a small book fell out , tucked between the pages. He picked it up. It was maybe half an inch wide, soft cover and bound with some kind of strong wire. The front cover was merely a simple set of cirles and loops and Harry felt like he recognized it but it wasn't until he opened the cover that he realized what he had.

The pages were covered in swirls and loops and other parts of the mathematical language his dad had been teaching him ever since he could read. His eyes widened. This was one of the lost books of the Time Lords. The only ones he had seen were in a special section of the library on the TARDIS and he had to have his dad there whenever he wanted to look at them. He had been told that there weren't any more, they had all disappeared with the rest of his dad's people but apparently that was wrong. He stroked it reverently. A book from the Time , truly, a book from his Dads people.

He stared at the inside page, trying to decipher the words. The language of Gallifrey was all about perfection, the perfect intersection of lines and circles, the placement of those words on the page, the location in relation to others. Well, at least the formal one he was learning. His dad told him there was a much more casual version of the language that had more symbology and less math but he hadn't learned it yet.

This particular book was…he stared at the cover, trying to piece out the swirls and circles and lines. This one…this one was a personal diary of… of …someone whose name he didn't know. He flipped to the next page, and the language flowed over it, creating and becoming the words they was determined to figure it out. He tucked the book into a pocket. He would show it to his dad later. Right now he was going to read about Legends and Myths and then he would find the science section. His little treasure would require the dictionary he was still working on to figure out, and that dictionary was in the TARDIS.

Later, after being berated by a thin faced, many armed librarian for mis-filing books and for running in the library, he found his dad, engrossed in a thick-spined book written in some kind of dot-line-square language Harry didn't know. He pulled out the little book from his pocket and set in on the page the Doctor was reading. He got a raised eyebrow in return.

"Dad, whose diary is this? I can't read the name."

The Doctor glanced down. "Rassilon's. First Lord President of Gallifr….." He trailed off, then looked at the book again, then up at Harry. "Harry, where did you find this? That's supposed to be lost." Harry shrugged.

"It was tucked into another book, some history of the Shadow Proclamation. Fell out of the pages." Harry bounced on his feet. "I couldn't read a lot of it, didn't recognize all the letters." The Doctor reached out and took the book, eyes wide and hand hovering over the cover.

"Harry, do you know what this means? Do you know what this book is? How much it could hold? The universal secrets that Rassilon never…never..." His eyes were wide in excitement, ecstatic happiness.

"Harry, Harry Harry Harry Harry! This is brilliant! There were rumors Rassilon actually had a diary of some sort but no one actually though he kept one."

Harry grinned. "I want to read it though. I want to decipher it. Can I?" The Doctor smiled indulgently.

"Whatever you you want."

"Awesome! Yes! I'll get it! Thanks Dad!" And with this, his plans to sabotage some part of the Shadow Proclamations designs were halted and he looked intently at the book in the Doctor's hand. "Uh, how are you going to get it out of the library? I thought all books were regulated by the Shadow Proclamation and you can't just take things out without telling someone, right?" Harry looked concerned. "And that librarian has one too many eyes and hands. I bet she would see us leave with it."

"Psh. So little mister rule breaker here is now following rules? No, it's my property, or well, time lord property, so it's mine by rights. And it doesn't have a stamp on it at all, so it shouldn't be a problem. Really. No electronic coding or whatever, whoever slipped it in here must have done so without getting the regency's attention." He frowned. "That was a tricky thing to do." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and buzzed it over the book. "No trace of anything electronic on it, a little bit of the vortex, a bit of the void, something else, but no electronic signature….how strange." He stared at the book in his hands. "This is a bit of a puzzle."

Harry reached for it. "I'm gonna figure it out. Just you watch."

"I never doubted it Harry." Harry smiled, took the book, and tucked it into a pocket. "Now, now, we should probably get going. No more mishaps on the way out, alright Harry? No running off, nothing. Otherwise I will confiscate the diary and you won't be reading it for quite some time." Harry clutched it protectively to his chest, nodding his agreement to the terms of the deal. "Promise?"

"Promise Promise promise Dad!" And he meant it. He really meant it. He rarely got to handle the books with any Time Lord script on it and now he got to translate one all on his own. At all possible costs, he wanted to translate the book. He smiled widely and tightened his jacket around his frame, making sure the book was well tucked into the pocket.

The Regent met them outside the Library doors, her hands folded sedately over her robes and a small smile on her face. She nodded at Harry then turned to the Doctor. "Your TARDIS will be placed on the registrar as a registered Shadow Proclamation Vehicle, though I would recommend you don't arrive without prior warning of some kind. The Shadow Proclamation is not meant to be…accessed, in such a manner." The Doctor nodded sagely, for all appearances agreeing with the statement. The walk back to the TARDIS was quick and mostly silent. Harry quieter than usual, keeping himself as inconspicuous as he dared.

"DOCTOR, YOU HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED AS AN ENTITY WITH ACCESS TO THE SHADOW PROCLAMATION. DO NOT ABUSE THESE PRIVILEGES. ANY VIOLATION OF THE LAW WILL BE DEALT WITH SWIFTLY." The Judoon Leader, Skorix, was as loud as ever as the Doctor approached the blue box he and Harry called home.

"Of course, of course! Ah, well, better get going. Harry!" Harry was already in the TARDIS, keen on reading the book they had smuggled out. The Doctor smiled. Well, one way to keep Harry out of trouble was to bribe him with knowledge. A tried and true method for delaying the possible explosions of nearby matter. He smiled and waved to the Judoon as he stepped into the TARDIS and shut the door behind him.

"Dad, do you know where that Galiffreyian dictionary went? Mine isn't complete and while yours sucks to read it has more words and I wanna make mine better" Harry asked him, rummaging around in the floor. His version of the dictionary was beside him, having already been unearthed from beneath the mountain of books on the far side of the TARDIS.

The Doctor pressed buttons on the console, feeling the TARDIS slip into the vortex. "In the library, where you were reading it last." Harry's head popped up, he frowned, then smiled widely.

"Right, right, ok! Bye!" And he raced down the connecting corridors towards the library.

~~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~

Harry spent most of the next few days scanning the dictionary, adding to his own and then comparing it to Rassilon's Diary. The language used in the diary was older and more complex than the dictionary words, but they were similar enough that Harry could labor over it until he was able to decipher whatever entry he was currently on.

Most of the early entries were continuations from what must have been an older diary and made little sense. It spoke of Pythia and of someone whose name was scribbled over and replaced by 'O'. This person was someone Rassilon both hated and admired and feared. Harry thought he would like to meet this person. Apparently this person vanished and Rassilon spent the rest of his time trying to forget about all that had happened. But it was the mathematical entries, complete with theoretical time warps and dimension crossing, which caught his attention.

From what he could understand, Rassilon was experiment with creating stable and permanent connections between parallel worlds. At the time this was written, there was no access to parallel worlds by any conventional means, though an occasional rip would appear. Rasillon was concerned with making them stable and permanent. The prospect of this possibility was fascinating and very very confusing.

Because the Time Lords were gone, there was no access to parallel worlds anymore, the walls were closed off, but with the instructions and theories that this genius was playing with…they could actually do it! They could reach into a parallel world! For real! He jittered in excitement. An entirely new universe to explore!

He was halfway through the diary when the mathematical language changed into complex math equations, things he wasn't familiar with, and though he could tell they dealt with time and space (they had variables for up to eight dimensions) the actual equations themselves were far beyond what he knew. It was then that Harry finally took the diary to his dad.

"Dad! Dad! I need help! I don't understand this stuff!" He was racing through the TARDIS halls, searching for his father or any trace of where he might be. The banging and clanging from up ahead, the console room, had Harry rolling his eyes. Of course he was there. Of course. And he was probably messing with the time rotor or some other such device. Still, when he came racing into the room, the tall lanky form of the Doctor rolled out from underneath the floor and bowed up. Streaks of various fluids lined his face, his hair was frazzled and he looked frustrated. Harry grinned.

"What is it Harry? Having problems with the language?" Harry shook his head.

"No, not math. I don't understand the math at all. It deals with something about parallel worlds and stable portals, but other than that, I don't really know…." Harry shrugged, holding out his own personal notebook and the diary towards his father. The Doctor looked stunned.

"Really? Are you sure? Parallel worlds?" Harry nodded.

"From what I understood, when Rassilon first became President, there wasn't travel between parallel universes, or it wasn't easy. He was looking for a way to create stable portals and such. The first part is all theory and writing, but then he gets into math and I can't read it anymore. Or I can, I just don't understand it. Which is about the same thing, really." The Doctor hesitantly took the notebook and diary from Harry, opening the pages with trembling fingers.

The possibilities of having access to a parallel universe again…it was sweet incentive. He could see Rose again…he could see if she was doing well, if she had a family, if her and his metacrisis were having a good life. It was one of his regrets, leaving her there without being able to see if she had a great life or not. He could do so much with this…

He opening the diary up to the marked page and his eyes scanned the words. Harry was partially right, in his assessment. It was a theory on creating stable portals, but he hadn't been able to tell that the portals were limited in time frame access. A few days at the most, or a few cycles of a certain set of time parameters. It wasn't a large window, but it would connect one universe to another while it was being used. And it could be used again. A set amount of time had to pass, but it could be used again. He trembled slightly at the prospect. He could really go and do it, he just had to learn the formula, learn how to implement it….

Two words blazed out of the equations, bold and bright and shining. BAD WOLF. There, right on the page, staring at him. He blinked, shook his head, checked again. They were there, written into the pages of a diary older and far long gone than the girl those words referenced. Still…if they were here, then there must be a way…

"Harry, can I borrow this for a little bit? Please?"

Harry cocked his head. "That's why I brought it to you. Can you understand it?"

The Doctor absently nodded. "Yeah…and I can almost fix it….I just have to….make a few adjustments to….this…one little…" The Doctor wandered off in the general direction of the library, or his room, or any number of other places. Harry smiled after him. His dad, always messing with something for some reason or other. At least this time it wasn't an attempt to upset the world balance or them running from any number of monsters. So Harry hoped.

The Doctor was scribbling frantically on a sheet of paper, hand drawing wild diagrams and filling in spaces with more letters and numbers and spirals and loops. It was starting to look like abstract art, really, but it was, to the Doctor, a way to fix a part of his past that he hadn't been able to leave with any sort of satisfaction. In fact, leaving Rose behind with his duplicate had been…it had been one of the hardest things he had done. He had done it out of a kind of misguided sense of justice or friendship or some other emotion he couldn't think of, but leaving Rose behind on Bad Wolf Bay all those years ago…he couldn't even begin to contemplate how much that hurt him.

Now, with this new possibility of being able to see her again, to see if she had a good life, if she had a wonderful family, if she loved his duplicate, if he loved her, anything about her, he just wanted to see her. And Harry had given him that opportunity back, had given him the option to see her again. He would show her to Harry, tell her all about the brilliance that was Rose Tyler, how she saved the universe, how she saved him. The pictures he had hidden of her, her cell phone, still on the TARDIS. She deserved to be remembered by Harry.

~~~~~This is an Ending~~~~~

To all the awesome reviews I got that I haven't replied to and to those I can't reply to, You all are amazing and awesome and reasons for me to edit and update and write and feel like my day has been made that much better. So thank you for being so amazing. All of you.

Kuroi


	10. In Which There is a Spectacular Return

Um…..yeah, I can only offer school as a reason for not getting this done any sooner. 18 credit hours and a grad course pile up quickly. 0.o I didn't quite realize how much work it would be. . Also, NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow, so GOOD LUCK to all my fellow nanoers! YOU CAN DO IT! (I shall be working on this story most likely, seeing as how I already have the plot to it worked up and just need the motivation NaNoWriMo inspires to finally do it.

Thank you to all of you who haven't given up on me and this story. It is taking me a while to get chapters up but I will do my best.

Now, on to what I know a lot of you have been waiting for, Rose Tyler's return. Enjoy! ^_^

~~~~This is a Beginning~~~~~

The diary Harry had so fortuitously stumbled upon was old, old and fascinating and filled to the brim with wondrous and mind-boggling ideas. While he would peruse the rest of the journal later, right now he was concentrating on the thirty or so pages were 'Bad Wolf' was scribbled into the margins, as though an afterthought to the equations themselves. Equations that had begun the process by which the Time Lords would come to conquer space and time and dimensionality. Equations the very foundation of his birth planet were founded upon and held together by. Equations he could use to break through the barrier that now held fast between one universe and another. This universe and the one that held the girl whose identity revolved around those two words scribbled into a diary written before her time.

But there was something odd about these equations. Something that wasn't adding up right, or working out in the circular manner math on Gallifrey operated. Some variable was missing, or not accounted for, or not included. Something was off. The Doctor stared at the sheets of paper in front of him, an old fashioned pen (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had given him that pen as a souvenir of thanks) shoved between his teeth as he ran his hands through his hair, ruffling the already wildly out of control style he was sporting.

If he stared at it hard enough, long enough, something would give. He would have an answer, the answer. It would just take some more time...he threw another crumpled sheet of paper over his shoulder, where it landed amidst the mass of crumpled, scribbled on and ink blotted balls of paper already populating the floor.

Just as he was about the stomp off for a nice cup of tea and a game of three dimensional chess with Harry as a break, it finally hit him. He immediately felt like an idiot.

Rassilon wasn't taking into account the added effect of the Void variables, the lack of space that existed between universes to separate them from touching. He wasn't considering how he would breach that void stuff, since the rip he was creating had to be made twice, once on each side. There had to be a pathway through the void, otherwise any vehicle traveling through it would be trapped forever in the swirl of nothingness. He straightened up and began to scribble dawn the new variables.

This, this was his element. His way of working. Impossibility-shmossibility. No, he was going to breach that gap, and he wasn't going to tear the universe apart in the process (he hoped). This equation was in effect before the newer Tardis models that allowed travel between Parallel worlds on their own merit, when the Time Lords had watched over the various worlds but hadn't breached the void to others. No, this had stability built into the equation. The Doctor whistled lowly. There was a reason Rassilon was one of the greatest Time Lords, why he had been resurrected for the Time War, why he had reigned as President for all thirteen of his regenerations, thousands and thousands of years. He was a genius, even a young Rassilon who was still discovering the limits of the Time Vortex and levels of quantum mechanics. The Doctor would never have figured all this out, he hadn't been introduced to the lack of possibility of travel through to parallel worlds. Only after the Time War and the loss of the Time Lords was this travel impossible. Technology once plentiful, if squandered unreasonably by its creators, had vanished with those who made it. But the young Rassilon who had created these works of art had lived in that possibility and had compensated for it.

And he was going to recreate it. Here and now, in a Universe with only one Time Lord, he was going to recreate it.

The equations in hand, all thirty-five pages of them, he raced into the console room and spun the computer interface towards him. Harry looked up from the corner he was sitting in.

"Finally decided to grace us with your presence, dad?" Harry asked sardonically. The Doctor blinked.

"Huh?"

"You were gone for nearly a hundred and sixty hours. The Tardis was getting worried." The Doctor grinned.

"Oh, Harry, you brilliant child you, I am going to show you something fantastic!" And with this said, he began typing frantically into the keyboard and looking at the screen. The Tardis gave a questioning pulse.

"Dad, what are you doing? The Tardis…she's….she's….DAD!" Harry rose to his feet, reaching out, eyes frantic and confused. "You're…she says you're…you're breaching the void! You're creating a tunnel…..DAD! What are you doing?"

"Just hold on Harry! We're going through it!"

A dial spun, a knob was twisted, a new-fangled device was fiddled with, several more things began to spin and swirl and the central Column pulsed bright gold, filling the room with bright, eye-searing light.

"DAD! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Harry was crouching behind the railing, hands holding on tight and eyes slammed shut.

"We're breaching the void! Spinning into nothingness and reaching into a parallel universe, Harry! We're actually doing it! Hold on tight! This is gonna be a bumpy ride!" Harry opened his mouth to scream when the entire room gave a violent shake and he was tipped sideways and sprawled on the other side of the room. The Doctor stood at the controls, a manic grin on his face, eyes wild and his hearts beating faster than he thought possible. He glanced over at Harry, noticing him struggling for the railing, reaching for stability as the Tardis pulsed with bright gold light again and shuddered. The Doctor was sent sprawling against the railing and the room spun in a vomit-inducing manner. Then it set down, brightly glowing gold light still spilling out of the column. A visible connection to the universe they came from. The Doctor sprang for the screen. They were there. They had made it to Pete's World. It had happened.

"Harry! Harry! We made it! We made it!" Harry groaned softly in the corner. "Harry? Harry!" He rushed over. Harry's black hair was sprawled over the floor, highlighting his pale skin and slightly damp. The Doctor touched the back of Harry's head. Red. He had split his head.

"Dad? When are ya gonna ge' yur license?" Harry moaned softly. The Doctor's eyes fluttered.

"Oh, oh Harry, I'm sorry, so sorry…so so…." He trailed off as bright sparks showered down and Harry's head healed up with a bit of sparkling green. Haryry smiled weakly up at him.

"see, all goo'….all good…just a little….sleepy…" Harry nodded off against the Doctor's legs, and the lanky alien smiled.

"Oh, Harry, aren't you just brilliant." He gathered the small boy in his arms. Harry was still so tiny, stick thin and with black hair brushing the lobes of his ears. Vibrant green eyes were closed right now, but when they were open, they shone with a fervor for knowledge and amusement. The necklace lying on his chest, a constant reminder of his own failures as a father but something Harry wore with pride, shone in the light. It was the only thing holding the child back from being dragged into the depths of his magic and drowning in it.

Now though, with Harry asleep and the possibility of Rose being outside those doors, the Doctor had a choice to make. Still, it wasn't a hard choice. Harry was his child and while he had been mourning the loss of Rose for years, he wasn't about to leave Harry when he was unconscious. Harry was his responsibility right now and he wasn't going to go haring off while Harry was recovering and asleep.

So he sat at Harry's side for a little bit, making sure Harry was alright and unhurt and in one piece before heading back to the control room and checking the screen. The screen was telling him that outside the Tardis doors were trees and just about anything else imaginable that would be on Earth. That wasn't what concerned the Doctor however. He wanted to know if they had made it to the alternate universe that held Rose and her family. The airspace was filled with what might be advanced barrage balloons, different from when he had been there before, but still. It was a hallmark of Pete's world that the skies were filled with them. He smiled. They had made it.

He spent the next few hours until Harry woke up discovering, to his chagrin, that they had arrived fifty years (he thought, time wasn't the same here) after he had left Rose here for the last time. He hoped…he hoped she was still alive, that she had lived a good life. He couldn't even think about the alternative, hadn't dared looked up her name, her family's name. he didn't want to know ahead of time, he wanted to see it for himself, so see her life, her spirit, still soaring. Whatever had happened, he wanted to see her as she was, not find out from a computer screen. Rose deserved that much at least.

Harry stumbled into the room after a few hours to find his dad reading the diary. Well, he looked like he was reading it. In fact, Harry noticed, he hadn't changed the page in well over five minutes. So he was thinking about something again, something that required enough of his attention to be considered vital enough that he couldn't multitask. Now that had to be something important.

The child took a deep breath, then spoke. "What's up dad?" The Doctor didn't respond. "Dad? Dad? You still there? DAD!" Harry yelled. The Doctor jerked up.

"Oh, Harry, how's your head?" Harry shrugged.

"Not bad. Not sore at all. Magic is good for something more than making makeshift 3-D models of the periodic table and nearby planets. Whatcha thinking about then?"

The Doctor sighed. "Someone I hope is still…still alive. She….I hope she's living a good life too." Harry frowned. It wasn't like his dad to visit old friends of his without telling him, and he was sure there were no old friends stuck on a formerly unreachable side of the void..

"I thought we went through the void to a different universe. How would you have a friend still here?"

The Doctor smiled. "She was stuck here, long long ago. Long enough that I don't know if she's alive. But I hope so, I really truly do." Harry nodded at the computer.

"Have you looked her up?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, too afraid. Don't want to know….not from a computer at any rate."

A knocking at the door had the Doctor's head springing up. So soon? He had be recognized so soon? Harry furrowed a brow.

"I'll get it." He opened the door and peered outside. "Says they're Torchwood, looking for you. A…A Zach? And a Gail?"

The Doctor frowned. "Torchwood? They still have one here?"

"Apparently. That's what they're calling themselves." Harry shrugged at their guests. "Don't know much about Torchwood, much less ones in parallel universes. You aren't exactly big fans of them, and uncle Jack doesn't talk about them much either." He looked out of the door. "What? No, I'm not the Doctor. Why would you think that? No, no, that's dad. DAD! Please? I don't like being mistaken for you."

The Doctor grinned but acquiesced to his child's request and came down to the door.

"Hello, how are you?" He opened the door wider.

Two people were standing outside, dressed in casual clothes and light jackets. They weren't armed, which pleased the Doctor, but they did look confused. The man, about thirty with short brown hair and a narrow face, the girl younger with black-brown hair, brown eyes and something that said 'serious' about her. When the Doctor popped his head out, they stepped back, slightly started.

Zach and Gail had been warned by numerous files that the blue box that their commander hoped would someday appear was bigger on the inside. Still, when confronted by this fact, they weren't sure what to do. It wasn't very often that a small child and a tall, skinny man would pop out of a blue box. Granted, they had knocked first (their commander had rigged up specific equipment to detect this blue box, they had answered the call) but it was in foolish hope. So when a boy answered the knock, they had been startled.

"Um, well, We…we're not really sure what to do about this…so….um…well, the Commander said we were to escort them to Torchwood home base….you, I mean, you, but….um….well…would you mind coming with us then?"

Harry grinned at them. "Wow, usually takes a bit longer for the tongue tying to commence. Congratulations on being the first to actually start right off." The Doctor gently cuffed Harry on the ear, then looked at the two still uncertain operatives.

"Well, then, we should go speak with your commander. Does this commander have a name?"

They looked at each other. "Uh…" Gail said. "We, er, we aren't really sure. She doesn't tell people her name, not anymore. She's been there since, well, since forever, really. Dunno where she came from." They started towards a small, one-story building. Discreet, mostly unnoticeable. "She's the one they call in when they don't have any other option. That's why she's the Commander. Built Torchwood up from the ground, they say, but that was almost a century ago, so I don't know if that's true."

The Doctor looked worried and vaguely puzzled. Could this mysterious commander be Rose Tyler? It wasn't possible, well, that wasn't really true, but it was improbable. He looked at Zach.

"Your commander, what does she look like?" Zach smiled.

"She's a looker. Honey brown hair, gold eyes, face to die for, bright red lips, smoking body. Still, she doesn't have anyone at all."

Gail shook her head. "People used to say that she did have someone. Don't know what happened to him, but she did have someone."

More and more riddles. Harry looked up at the Doctor. "Do you think she's the girl?" he asked in a whisper. The Doctor shrugged, but his face remained worried.

"I don't know Harry, I really don't. And it was so long ago…I don't think she's still alive. Might be one of her children…"

Zach opened the nondescript metal door and ushered them into a pristine, white-washed room. As soon as the door closed, the room lit up and scanned them.

"Welcome back, Torchwood operate Zachary Longswordth and Gail Collins. Third Party identified as The Doctor. Fourth party unknown. Please state your name and intentions."

Harry raised an eyebrow at Zach and Gail, who shrugged and nodded for him to acquiesce.

"Er, Harry, here with the Doctor…." That seemed to satisfy the voice, and a door opposite them opened. Zach and Gwen motioned them towards it and they entered what appeared to be a pleasant sitting room.

"Sit, please. I'll go and call the Commander." Zach and Gail vanished down a side corridor, and they heard the _ping _of elevator doors opening then closing. Harry threw himself onto a couch, and the Doctor looked around the room, wondering if he could access any information from here.

His search for answers was interrupted by a door sliding softly open and a figure stepping out. A very very familiar figure.

When the Doctor appeared rather tongue tied, Harry crossed to the woman and offered his hand.

"Hi, I'm Harry. Don't worry about him. He usually talks too much, so it's rather nice to see him astonished." The woman smiled down at Harry, then crouched until they were eye level.

"I know. He's always spouting on about things and expects you to know all about it. Thinks he's so clever. So, who might you be, besides Harry?"

Harry smiled. "That's my dad, when he's not too busy being a prisoner, chased, or evicted from various planets." The woman's smiled dipped just a bit, then steadied.

"Where's your mum then? Back in the Tardis?"

Harry shook his head. "Nah, dad adopted me, took my after my parents were killed, though I don't remember them. " He shrugged. "Still, I think I would go mad if I had to stay in one place, I love the Tardis. She goes anywhere in the universe and we even got to go see the landing of the first shuttle on Pluto! The first attempt was fifty million miles off an they were drifting into Neptune's orbit. Nearly hid a fringe Solar community, that's how far off they were. But the second one was a success! It was awesome!" Harry grinned. "Did you used to travel with the Doctor? He said he had a friend here, that they couldn't leave." The woman smiled sadly.

"Yes, I did, a long time ago." She looked up at the still speechless Doctor. "Long, long ago, when I was still a kid. I wasn't sure I would ever see your dad again, Harry."

Harry frowned. "Yeah, dad said it was impossible to travel to parallel universes, but then I found a diary from one of the old Time Lords and it talked about traveling to other dimensions then dad figured it out and here we are, though he said we got here really late and you might be dead. Since you aren't though, dad must be happy. What's your name?"

The woman looked slightly astonished at him, then smiled brightly. "You are just like your dad, huh, talking a million miles a minute. I'm Rose, by the way." Harry's eyes widened.

"I found your room! The Tardis showed it to me. Had your name on the door and everything. Even found one of dad's ties in there." He snuck a look at his dad, a grin on his face.

The Doctor finally spoke. "Rose? Is that you? Really you?"

Even with her right in front of him, her hair undyed, her eyes a shocking golden hue, he wasn't able to believe it. Then she sat and talked to Harry, smiling with her tongue between her teeth, her eyes lit up. Then she said her name. The Doctor finally found his voice again, and he croaked out his question. Rose looked up at him, then patted Harry on the head before stepping over towards him.

"Hello Doctor. It's been a while." He reached out to touch her, just brush his fingers over her arm, something to affirm her solidity. His fingers met the cool flesh of her hand, and without waiting for anything else to be said, he pulled her into a tight hug.

Her arms went around his waist, pulling him tighter into her frame, and her face buried itself into the crook between his shoulder and neck. She shook without crying, her entire body shaking, and the Doctor held her close. Tears ran down his face and he kept his eyes tightly shut, He heard Harry settle into the couch with the diary. Harry could keep himself occupied for a little bit.

They stood, melded together the full length of their bodies, until Rose pulled back, looking up into the face of the man she never thought she would see again.

Brown eyes stared into gold, and Rose smiled.

"Hey."

"Hey." The Doctor breathed in. "How…how are you still still here? How long…" he couldn't finish that sentence. Rose smiled.

"Almost a hundred and fifty years Doctor. It's been a long time. Way too long."

"How?"

"I don't know. I really don't. But I've spent a century trying to figure out how, how to get back to my world, how to get back to you, how to do anything. And since I'm death-resistant, well, it meant that I had all the time in the world to figure it out." She smiled at him, a wobbly, huge smile. "You just got here first."

The Doctor just pulled her back into his arms. "Oh, Rose, Rose Rose Rose, you are amazing. Absolutely amazing and brilliant. How did you ever end up with an old mad man like me?" Rose's hand smacked him lightly on the back.

"A question for another time, Doctor. But here I am, and you are not leaving me again, not ever." She ginned at him, the looked at Harry. "Hey, Harry, what do you say to cheering up your old dad?" Harry grinned.

"Sure, as long as I can dunk him in the Silusian Springs!"

"Deal!" Rose laughed. "I like your kid Doctor!"

The Doctor blinked. "You…you're coming with me?" Rose quirked an eyebrow.

"You have a problem with that? I don't have anyone here, not anymore. Tony's daughter never had kids, mum couldn't have anymore, and everyone else I knew died fifty years ago. I'm not staying here any longer and I'm sure Harry could do with another person around that isn't you or Jack. A better role model, at least."

"Oi!" the Doctor's look of comic surprise had Rose laughing. "But, no, really, you still want to travel with me? After…after all that time?" Rose sighed.

"Doctor, I waited a hundred years for you to come back here. What did you think I would do, stay? I've been planning on leaving soon anyway. Your way is just safer than mine." She brushed a soft kiss against the Doctor's lips, then pulled away. "I'll be in my office, when you've finally wrapped that big brain of yours around the fact. Harry, wanna come with me to get my stuff?" Harry grinned, shoving the diary into his pocket.

"Sure. It'll be fun to have someone else on the Tardis. Uncle Jack isn't there all the time. Says he;'s got responsibilities or some such." He followed her into the elevator, waving to his dad (who still looked dumbstruck, standing in the middle of the room and watching them go) as the door closed.

As soon as the elevator started moving (down, Harry sensed) Rose collapsed to the floor, pulling her legs in and tucking her head into her knees. Quiet sobs reached Harry's ears.

"Rose? Rose? Are you okay?"

She had held it together up in the waiting room, she had been strong and steady and even flirty. But she had also been keeping the shock and surprise and pain hidden, closed off behind a curtain she didn't want the Doctor to look behind. When the elevator doors had shut, she had collapsed, folding in on herself and dropping to the floor. Rose didn't know what to say. She had lived through a hundred and fifty years on slim hope, on something that she thought would never happen. After the death of the metacrisis Doctor, the one who hadn't been able to find his feet on the ground much less find her amidst his confused emotions, what she had lived for most was the advent of space travel. The ability to go out amongst the stars again. The Doctor….seeing the Doctor again was something she kept locked away in the back of her mind in cold storage, since the possibility of it happening wasn't high. She wouldn't contemplate it, she couldn't. Otherwise she would never get anything done. Now though, that he was here, here and alive and still with at least one of the same faces she had fallen in love with when she had been a child, a girl of barely twenty years, well, she wasn't sure her heart could handle it.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, a soft gasp, a small shudder, then her fear and hope and anger and every other emotion that had sprung to her mind when she had seen him on the monitor screen softened, and she could think properly again. She lifted her head and looked at the tiny boy that was the Doctor's son, holding a gold necklace in one hand and touching her shoulder with the other. His eyes were screwed shut and he was breathing in small pants.

"Harry?" her voice was hoarse. Harry opened his eyes.

"You alright now Rose? You weren't breathing very well and you wouldn't stop shaking." Rose blinked.

"What did you do?"

"I, I siphoned some of the emotional overload away."

"Now you really sound like him. What did you do, in less confusing terms."

Harry smiled, then took his hand off her shoulder. Rose felt the hand leave, felt her emotions swirl again, but she controlled them this time. "I'm a touch empath. I can feel someone's emotions when I touch them. I wear a necklace to stop it from happening all the time, but when I need to, I can take some of the harder emotions from someone, so they can think. Only do it to dad very occasionally. He told me not to do it, but sometimes, when he's too sad, I take some of it. It helps when he has to think of a way out of a prison cell without his sonic screwdriver."

Rose still wasn't certain she got the entire story, but the elevator beeped and told her they had reached their destination. She hauled herself up off the floor, wiping her face clear of tears and held out a hand for Harry. The boy put the necklace back on again before taking it, and they headed into the large, blue colored office that was Rose's home.

Upstairs, the doctor was still standing where Rose had left him, blinking. Rose was still alive. She was still alive, she still wanted to come with him, and she still…she still…he touched his lips, grinning rather stupidly. She still loved him, he thought. He hoped.

And Harry liked her. And Rose liked Harry. And she was still here. He couldn't wrap his mind around it. Who waits that long for someone, who has measures in place for the possible arrival of someone who shouldn't be able to travel to this dimension? Only his Rose would.

He stepped to the elevator, pressed the button, and waited. His Rose, here still.

Behind him, he heard another elevator ping open, and Zach stepped out.

"Um, sir, Doctor, sir, the Commander…where was that elevator?" Zach blinked. The Doctor grinned.

"Oh, I already met your commander. Brilliant woman, she is. Absolutely phenomenal. Brilliant. Just gonna give her a hand with her things, really." Zach cleared his head.

"I was just going to tell you, the commander isn't here. I couldn't get a hold of her…" The Doctor grinned.

"It's alright. She's here." Zach raised an eyebrow, then shrugged.

"Alright then. Let me know when you're leaving. I'll buzz you out." He headed back to the elevator and pressed a button, nodding to the Doctor as he headed out and down. The Doctor grinned madly. Rose, his Rose, was here.

The elevator in front of his opened up, and he stepped in. There was only one button.

"Well, that's easy enough." And down he went.

He had traveled maybe a five hundred feet underground when the elevator came to a halt and the doors opened. He stared at walls that were painted Tardis blue, at a wooden desk with an electronic interface, a wall panel that slid out to monitor the whole of the happenings at Torchwood, and then at the two people that were now in his life, making him whole and sane and complete.

Harry and Rose were pouring over various pictures and laughing.

"Did dad really look like that? With the big ears and nose and all?" Rose smiled.

"Don't knock it. He was brilliant. I loved that leather jacket, I did. Still remember the smell, even after all these years."

"Dad in leather…man is that a weird mental image." Rose laughed, and the Doctor felt himself shiver at the sound. It had been far too long since he had heard her voice. Far, far too long.

"What are you two up to then?" Harry grinned over at him.

"Rose was just showing me pictures of you! You've never had good fashion sense, have you?" he questions, smirking a bit.

The Doctor mocked affronted anger. "I will tell you that ties are the height of fashion," he said, nose in the air. Harry chuckled.

"When, 1950's Earth?"

The Doctor huffed and Rose laughed.

"Alright you two, come on. I've got a few bags that I have to have. Mementos, of family." She shrugged slightly, but the Doctor could see how much she missed them. No more Jackie to hug him, then slap him for bringing her daughter home late, no Pete and his weird inventions, he would never meet her little brother, Tony. All the years she had lived without him, never dying, stuck on a planet where people grew old around her. He looked at Harry significantly, and he sighed, then ran past Rose and into the room she was headed for. The Doctor snagged her arm and pulled her into a hug. One she didn't protest to.

"Oh, Rose, beautiful brilliant Rose. My Rose." Rose sighed into the embrace.

"It's been a long time Doctor, longer than I thought possible. God, I never thought you would be here. I couldn't find a way back, not without tearing reality apart, and I couldn't justify it. I couldn't destroy a universe to reach another, I couldn't. I sat in that room, staring at that wall, holding the button to the dimensional cannon." Her eyes misted. "Now, now you're here. After so long…" her voice choked up and the Doctor pulled her close.

"I'm so sorry Rose. So so sorry. I never meant for that to happen. Never. I thought…I thought I was saving you, leaving you here with him. God Rose I'm so sorry." Rose looked up at him with watery eyes.

"When Harry said he was your son, I think my heart almost stopped. But he is amazing, isn't he? Almost like a mini Doctor, the way he speaks." She leaned up on tiptoes. "Don't you dare stop me Doctor, I've been waiting a hundred and fifty years to do this." Then she kissed him.

Not the chaste kiss from earlier, no, this one was full of pent up passion and need and had teeth and tongue and the Doctor wound his hands through her hair and pressed her closer and noses mashed and teeth clashed and he was sure one of them had drawn blood but they didn't care and the world could have blown up and they wouldn't have noticed.

It could have gone on forever, neither of them really needed air anytime soon, but it was the habit of breathing, helped by the wolf whistle from Harry, that had them pulling back from each other and panting heavily. Harry was smirking, a few bags at his feet and tiny hands crossed over his chest. The Doctor caught sight of a video phone from New Earth in his pocket, but said nothing. No doubt as soon as they were back in their universe it would be sent off to Jack for review, but at the moment, he could care less. Whatever the future would hold for him, for her, for them, for whatever happened, Rose was back and he figured he could handle just about anything with Rose and Harry there. He smiled.

"Anyone up for a trip back to the Tardis?" Harry smirked.

"Don't you wanna christen Rose's bed before we leave this universe behind dad?" he leered. The Doctor blushed down to his shoes.

"You've been letting him hang around Jack too much," Rose accused him with a smile wide across her face. The Doctor couldn't quite meet her eyes. "It's alright Harry. I'm sure there are plenty of other places to christen, whenever I manage to loosen that tie around his neck." Here she gave a lavish wink to the Doctor. Harry groaned.

"Alright, alright, enough. No more innuendos, please. He's my dad!" Harry complained loudly. Rose smirked.

"Shouldn't have started then." The Doctor was still rather mute, but upon seeing the look in Harry's eyes, and the suggestive squeeze of Rose's hand, he delved deep for the inner sexual being and yanked on it. He swept Rose towards the ground, a deep back bend that ended in a kiss. Harry made disgusted noises.

"If you all are gonna do that, I'm heading back upstairs! No way am I sticking around long enough to watch what happens next!" And with this, he stalked off towards the elevator and pressed the call button. The Doctor grinned into Rose's mouth.

"How long should we let him stew up there?" he asked softly. Rose smiled.

"I have enough monitoring screens in here to make this place safer than UN Headquarters. We could give it a few hours." An eyebrow went up and hands pulled Rose up to slink further down her body.

"Well then, best get started." Rose laughed delightedly.

"Let me show you something first." The elevator doors closed behind Harry and started its journey upward as Rose pulled the Doctor into her bedroom and headed to the nightstand.

The Doctor stared around the room in wonder. The walls were covered with star charts and diagrams, various constellations and graphs of orbits and locations, plans for interstellar travel (a nearby magazine article, carefully printed out and taped onto the wall, announce plans for the first passenger craft to the Mars habitation in two months. Rose had tickets taped next to it. Her bed was a dark blue color, black and yellow pillows covering the top, spilling off the side. It wasn't made, rather abandoned in a hurry. Rose never made the bed, he recalled. A pink sweatshirt lay over a chair, a desk top was covered in various reports and paperwork, a mirror was melded into a far wall, a door led into what he assumed was a bathroom. There was no closet. Had Rose really forgone the unreasonable number of clothes she used to carry with her? The small things that would litter the Tardis wherever she left them? Had they truly vanished?

Rose ran back, holding out a small box towards him. His eyes widened.

"You…you still have this? Really? After all this time?" Rose smiled.

"What, d'cha think I'd leave it on the Tardis? After all that trouble to get it?" He reached out with trembling hands and grasped the box, holding his hand over hers.

"And it's…it's still there?" Rose huffed a laugh.

"Of course it is. Where'd ya think it'd go to? Always helped me remember when things got bad though, that there was hope, that you were still out there, somewhere, cause, well…"

"Venusian crystals are sustained by the life force of the other, the giver. And the brighter it glows, the more the other loves them…a genetic transfer that links directly to the original owner. Those who mine Venusian Crystals have to wear gloves so they don't taint the crystal. First skin contact initiates the genetic transfer, secondary contact completes it…" it was a rote scientific fact that he held onto as he opened the box, and the light emenating from the heart of the crystal overwhelmed him. Rose smiled.

"Whenever I felt like jumping off a bridge, I'd pull this out. It never failed." She smiled, lifting the crystal out and taking the Doctor's hand. "Do you remember what happens when both parties touch the crystal again Doctor?" she asked casually, holding his hand scant centimeters above the crystal. The Doctor's breath came in soft pants.

"The cyrstal…it…it becomes two halves, one of which inscribes…." He couldn't finish. Rose took over from him.

"Inscribes the name of the partner into the stone. It's one of the reasons the crystals are highly valued, because they have always been a part of a Venusian couple's bonding ceremony." Rose's tone was off handed, but the Doctor could feel the hard, fast pulse of her blood in her hand, the small tremble in her body.

"To become bonded without one is frowned upon, because there is no knowledge of true love in the union. The telepathic and genetic link the crystals form is a reflection of the bond already present between the two. The crystal is given from one member to the other, and only when the bond is considered complete is the crystal offered again."

They stared at each other, and Rose dropped her hand from the Doctor's. His hand reached out to finish what he had started all those years ago.

A scream rang through the room. A scream the Doctor knew well, a scream that had him rushing to the elevator and desperately pressing the call button.

~~~This is a Line Break~~~~

Harry smiled widely to himself. As strange as it was to see his dad kissing anyone, much less the nice and pretty Rose who knew the Doctor liked to stroke the Tardis and always had a banana and laughed with him, he was happy that his dad was happy. His dad was very very happy. He resolved to keep himself out of their way for a while. Uncle Jack might be corrupting him in various other ways, but Harry was still a seven year old. Some things were better left for people who liked that kind of thing. Harry was not that person. Not right now.

The doors pinged open to the couch filled room he had left half an hour ago, and he settled himself back into a comfy, cushion filled one nearby. The diary was back in his hands, and as he passed over the math sections of the diary and turned towards the back, his eyes narrowed. It was labeled 'Complications', or the Gallifreyian equivalence of the word. It encompassed the idea of urgency and emergency and problems and instability and the possibility of leakage.

He turned pages faster and faster as he read through as much as he could understand. If this was right, if his dad hadn't compensated for the minor temporal shifts and the factors of the null dimensions in the void, they were in a lot of trouble.

He was so engrossed in his pages, he didn't see the figure looing in front of him.

He did feel the slim needle the poked into his collarbone, the hand the grabbed him to keep from toppling over, the book falling from his numb fingers.

Then the necklace was slipped off his neck, he had no preparation, and he screamed as the person's emotions flooded his body, his mind. He screamed so loudly, so filled with pain and hate and anger, that the person holding him back off. Harry collapsed, panting, and he felt his mind struggle to deal with the influx of new information, the drugs in his system, the lack of his necklace, the fuzzy image of Zach in front of him.

"Why…." He said, his words slurring.

"If you're important to the Doctor, if he's who the files say he is, then he can help us significantly. And we need leverage. We thought we would have to threaten him directly. Then you came up. Weren't we lucky. The Doctor's companion, his child, his son, now in our hands. And with this pretty little necklace. A hostage and the necessary funding to finish the project."

"What….what…proj…" Harry couldn't keep his eyes open very well, his mouth wouldn't work, his hands were like lead. His hearing still worked though.

"This planet, such a weak planet, so easy to take over. And Torchwood has the best facilities. Did you know the Commander placed secret bases all over the globe? A network of telepathic signals, perfect for overpowering the weak, human mind."

"Dad…dad'll stop…stop you…"

Zach laughed. "He won't even be able to find you." Harry's vision blacked out, and the last thing he felt was arms picking him up, cradling him.

~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~

The Doctor jabbed at the call button over and over, hoping that it would come faster if he just hit it a few more times. Rose was standing in front of the wall of screens, tapping on the wall with her fingers and moving images around, zooming in here, out there, poking, prodding and generally finding what she was looking for. When she did, a sound of victory rang around the room, followed immediately by one of anger.

"Zach. Why is it always the quiet ones? Damn it." She reached under the desk and pulled out what seemed like a tube. The Doctor looked back at her.

"What is that?" Rose's smile was hard.

"Stun ray. With a bit of a jolt. And I know where Harry is." The Doctor's eyes widened. "They blocked the video feed from the first ten floors manually and it would be a waste of time to start them again, so I ran a search for the vortex energy. Can't wipe that from the sensors, and they forgot about those. No one uses them really, here. They were more precaution after an invasion a few decades back. No one left knows about them except me. They found Harry three floors below ground level and moving east. Towards an old exit I could have sworn was blocked off. Obviously not," she added when the Doctor raised a brow.

"Where does it lead?" he asked quickly. Rose grimaced.

"Tunnel heads out to the Thames, a smuggling safe house. Closed down ages ago but the foundations still there, new hover dock and everything." Rose bit her lip, looked at the Doctor with a critical eye, sighed, looked at the elevator door that still wasn't there, looked back at the Doctor. The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Just…not used to having someone come with me 'nymore. Been nearly, oh, eight decades since I took someone with me…girl, barely out of her teens, fast, good with a gun…" she stopped, didn't need to finish the sentence. The Doctor sighed. He did know.

"I'm coming with you. I don't care, he's my son and I am not losing him to anyone. What do you know about Zach?" Rose sighed.

"Only as much as what's in the files really. I try not to work too closely with the members of Torchwood. They don't know my name, I'm only there once a week to run them through training simulations and I don't hire them. I vet them, check their records, make sure we don't get anyone crazy." She frowned. "He must have slipped through the cracks. Quiet guy, had a run in with an invasion about….thirteen years ago. Worked in the science department for seven years, transferred to field six years ago. Quick on his feet, good thinker." A slip of an ironic smile. "Little too good, apparently."

The Doctor fidgeted, then rushed into the now present elevator. Rose pressed an almost invisible button and a screen shimmered into existence on the side wall. She selected the third floor and the elevator started moving. "You've gotten cynical Rose," he said, staring at the doors. He missed the flash of sadness in her eyes.

"Comes with the territory Doctor. You're not exactly the most cheerful person in the universe, no matter how hyper you are." The Doctor grinned.

"True that." His hands ran repeatedly through his hair, making the ends stand up as if electrocuted. He tapped his fingers together, then on the wall, then his leg, until Rose, fed up with the noise, just grabbed his hand in hers and held it still, fingers entwined. It had been too long, she realized, since she had held his hand. Way too long. The look on his face indicated the same.

"There. Now stop fidgeting. We are getting Harry back." She stopped, screwed her face up in what looked like a grimace, then frowned. "It feels weird saying that to you, that's your line."

The Doctor laughed. "Usually is, but it is good to hear it." Harry, he thought, his little Harry. His magical in every sense of the word Harry. His hand clenched around Rose's. "If he's hurt, Zach had better hope you get to him first," he promised in a low voice. Rose stared into eyes that raged. She hadn't seen eyes that dark in over a century.

"Zach had better hope that whoever he's working with has got some mercy," Rose said. "I've got none for him." Children were children, and it didn't matter what species or planet of origin, they deserved to be protected. Harry just happened to have a protector who could and would tear the universe apart to find him again. That protector just happened to have along a Bad Wolf who could and would demolish you down to your atomic level. She knew how to fiddle with stun gun technology. She had created it.

The elevator door pinged open and Rose pulled a small screen out of her pocket as they headed out. "That way." Left it was. With Rose directing, they raced through hallways until they arrived at a brick wall. Rose didn't hesitate, pressing a small button on the side and watching the brick slide backwards and to the right. The Doctor grinned.

"Brilliant. Secret doors. I love a good secret door." He ran in and pulled out the sonic screwdriver.

"The detectors don't go any farther than this. We'll have to guess." Rose hoped they guessed right.

The Doctor grinned. "No need. Got this." He brandished his screwdriver. Rose sighed.

"I might not have seen that in years Doctor but even I know it can't detect humans." The Doctor shook his head.

"Not that. A special king of psionic energy. Harry's brimming with it, leaves a trail where ever he goes. Useful in making sure he doesn't get too lost." Rose raised an eyebrow. "I'll explain later. Alonzy!" and he raced down the passageway. Rose grinned. It had been a long time since she had had that heady feeling one got with the Doctor, as if everything would turn out alright.

More twists, more turns, more bends. The Doctor turned unerringly at every corner. The passageway was rough, hewn from rock that was hundreds of years old and hadn't been touched by modernity. There were still alcoves were lamps and iron rings for torches, something she hadn't seen in, in, she wasn't sure. Damp and slimy and dark (she was holding a small globe that illuminated the area around her), Rose checked every so often to make sure her footing was sure and steady. It wouldn't do to tumble down and break her nose. Her ability to not die did not extend to instantaneous healing.

They stopped abruptly in front of a plaster wall and the Doctor stared at the Sonic Screwdriver, his eyes screwed up, confused. Rose sighed. She had forgotten, over the years, that despite the Doctor's absolute genius, he was still a bit thick. She shoved him out of the way and raised a foot. She planted it directly through the wall and kicked out into open air.

"Fake wall. Easy to put up, especially if you have a head start." The Doctor looked at her admiringly. Rose grinned back, tongue between her teeth.

"Brilliant Rose!" He beamed, and he and Rose continued to dismantle the wall bit by bit. When they could finally fit through (it took a bit of punching and kicking and the Doctor almost busting a knuckle before deciding his feet were more sturdy that his hands) the Doctor turned a smile at Rose and went for it. She stopped him with a hand.

"You don't have a stun gun and I would rather not have a you with a new face if they decide to shoot upon entrance." The Doctor looked like he was about to protest. "And I'm sure Harry would rather not see you regenerate either." He froze, then sighed reluctantly and let her head through the hole first, stun gun in hand. She had fiddled the settings into a stun-and-shock mode. It was more than the bugger deserved.

She made sure the room they emerged into was clear before telling the Doctor to come through. Or she would have, if he hadn't slid out right behind her.

"You've gone and grown up on me," he said offhandedly. Rose gave him a tight smile.

"I didn't have much of a choice now did I?" she shot back. Then she sighed. They would have to talk about this power thing when they had the chance. She wasn't a twenty year old London shop girl anymore. He couldn't treat her like it either. "Now, where's Harry?"

The Doctor was already taking readings. "Come on then Rose." He was heading for the door opposite them. It wouldn't open. He buzzed at it with the sonic. It stayed locked. "Deadlock seal. I didn't think you all had them yet. Still too far ahead of your time." Rose shrugged, then narrowed her eyes.

"Zach's not working alone. Check the connection with the electronic mechanism. Do they use a fusion blend of hyper-zirconium and something similar to copper?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow but checked obligingly. When he had proven Rose right, she cursed softly. "Damn it. He's working with the Zotlings. They were the aliens that crashed here thirteen years ago, the one Zach was mixed up in. Tall, blueish species with three eyes and long, thin fingers; brilliant with electronics, the friendly ones at least. Got their ship fixed and they headed back out."

The Doctor listened in silence. "That's not all though, is it Rose?" he said softly. Rose shook her head.

"It was a prison transport ship, moving quadrants. A riot had broken out and one of the inmates had messed with a few couplings and the nav system. They left missing about four inmates. Most of us figured they died in the crash. Zach said he had seen some burn up…." Rose narrowed her eyes, then sighed.

"He was lying then, wasn't he."

"Yeah. That particular combination of metals comes from their ship. It wasn't top of the line so when a few spools of wire went missing no one questioned it."

"Very good Commander," a crackling voice spoke. "And you've done well in finding this place. We weren't sure if you would." The Doctor jerked his head up sharply. A screen was set above the doorway and a tall, thin, blueish creature with three eyes sat in front of it. Rose could see Harry laying on a couch in the background.

"What do you want with Harry?" the Doctor asked. The Zotling tilted its head.

"He is only bait, Doctor. We need you." It looked over at Rose. "And you, Commander. This child was just a means to an end."

"If you've hurt him," the Doctor started, but the creature waved it's abnormally long fingers dismissively.

"No, no, why would I do that? Only if I need to would I hurt the child. He is my…leverage, as you would say it. My insurance to assure that the work I need done will be completed."

"And what's that?" the Doctor asked. The creature's eyes widened in a smile of sorts.

"Why, my future plans. With the police long gone from this quadrant and this species, this primitive species, so far from being able to build the necessary equipment to return to any planet with some form of civilization more…advanced than this petty human race, I have decided that I shall place myself as their commander and take control of this pitiful and weak species. It would be a boon to them, a helping hand in their time of need. They are most definitely so far behind what I need." The Doctor glared at the screen.

"And so you took Harry to force me to help you complete a machine that you would use to take over the world? How daft are you?" The alien looked amused, rather than insulted. Rose wondered if the Doctor had any sort of plan at all and was about to take control of the situation, when she noticed Harry standing up behind the alien, his hand removing his necklace, his other reaching out. She remembered when harry had said earlier, about his ability to removed emotions from people. What was he going to do?

She turned her attention back to the Doctor. He was distracting the alien, keeping him occupied on him so he wouldn't look behind him.

"Young Harry is my insurance, my green card, to use one of your world's quaint phrases. He is here to make sure you work quickly. Zach will lead you to the device. And Commander, if you decide to shoot Zach, I would make sure you don't care too much about young Harry here," the alien turned around to gesture and was met with Harry's face. Harry smiled widely. "What? How?" The alien didn't get much farther than that.

"Time to sleep," Harry said viciously, then clamped both hands around the alien's face. He screamed soundlessly, and the alien screamed with him. They both collapsed and the Doctor looked like he would jump through the screen if he could. It was lucky the door clicked open, otherwise Rose was sure the skinny Time Lord would have tried his luck ramming through titanium alloy. Zach was met with the very angry face of the Doctor.

"Take me to see your boss, now." Zach quivered, quailed. He looked at Rose, who was pointing the tube at him. He gathered his courage, stepped visibly back from the Doctor, then said,

"He..he said that if you hu-hurt me, he'll hurt the child." Rose raised an eyebrow.

"Look at the screen, Zachary. You'll see that you're a little behind the times." Zach nervously stepped into the room, looked up at the screen, noticed the two unconscious figures, gulped.

"Al-alright. This-this way." Rose looked at the Doctor.

"Couldn't you have tracked him?" she asked, pointing at the screwdriver. The Doctor shook his head.

"No, this whole place is lead lined. Only got as far as this door, that's it. Then it cuts out, caput, gone." He looked at Zach. "Now, take me to my son." Zach nodded tightly.

It was a short journey, a few flights of stairs and a few turns, then the room they had seen on the camera was suddenly in front of them. Rose stayed with Zach, keeping the stun gun aimed at him, while the Doctor rushed to Harry. He gently placed the necklace back on him before picking him up and holding him close. Rose was sure Harry was going to get some kind of lecture later about risking his life (when did the Doctor not lecture someone on the principle, despite the hypocrisy that particular lecture brought about) but right now, all she could see was relief.

Rose pulled primitive handcuffs out of a pouch on her belt (no one knew about them anymore so no one could pick them) and attached Zachary to the metal tubing running floor to ceiling. It was strong enough to keep him in one place. Then she walked over to the two figures on the ground. The Doctor was carefully holding Harry to him.

Harry looked so much smaller when he wasn't awake, Rose realized. Absolutely tiny. His hands fit whole in her palm, his tiny nose and mouth wouldn't have been out of place on a much younger child. If she hadn't known better, she would have put Harry's age at four. She gently touched the Doctor on the shoulder and he looked up at her, his face drawn in that bottomless agony she had seen so long ago, when he hadn't been able to save someone in time, or when she had gotten hurt. She cupped a cheek, then took on of his hands and placed it over Harry's strongly beating heart.

"He's fine Doctor. He's alive, he's breathing, he's not bleeding. We need to get out of here, I need to have this stuff swept up by Torchwood employees, I need to have my senior officer re-vetted and then have him do a sweep of Torchwood. And I need to figure out what to do with Zach and our blue friend here, so take Harry and get back to the Tardis. I'll meet you there in a little while." She smiled at him. "And don't leave without me."

"Rose…I can help. I really can…" Rose raised an eyebrow, then looked down at Harry.

"Doctor, the bad guys are unconscious or handcuffed, there's no imminent threat of impending explosion or other massive problem that only the brilliance of you could defeat, so you can take a bit of time and take care of your kid. He deserves that much at least. It can't be easy on him, messing with emotions like he did." The Doctor's eyes widened.

"How…"

Rose smiled. "He's your kid in every sense of the meaning Doctor. Including babbling too much. He told me." Rose stroked a hand down Harry's cheek. "He's special, he is."

The Doctor nodded, then stood up, Harry's head balanced on his shoulder and arms dangling by his side. He looked at Rose. "I'll wait here until you can get someone else here. I don't want to leave you alone." The _at all_ was implied. Rose smiled.

"Let me call Javier. I can trust him." She reached for her communication device and dialed a specific number, then held it up in front of her. A face swam into view.

"Commander?" Its tone was confused.

"Javier, get two people you trust implicitly and follow this signal. Bring a full kit, dismantle and destroy. Interrogation kits as well." The face on the screen looked puzzled but didn't argue. It faded to black and a small blue light clicked on the top. The Doctor settled onto the couch Harry had been laying on, looking at Rose with unreadable eyes. Rose ignored him, checking instead on the former Torchwood employee who was now leaning heavily against the wall, head against the pole. Zach looked up at her.

"Well now, what are we going to do with you?" The way she said it made Zach gulp. The Commander's reputation was scary. Scary and unnerving and made Zach shiver in his boots. Before all this, the idea of being exposed as working for an alien taking over the world had given him nightmares. He wasn't the bravest person, he wasn't the smartest, but he had realized opportunity to get his share of a world that had screwed him from the beginning. But looking at the eerie gold eyes that held absolutely no mercy for him, he didn't think even the glimmer of possibility was worth it.

"Wh-what are you go-go-going to do to m-m-me?" he stuttered. Rose didn't smiled.

"I'm sure there's sufficient punishment awaiting you. A bit of retcon maybe, a stay in the dungeon cells, though I could just send you to the remodification center. You know the one." And Zach did. Where the mentally insane were sent, their brain modified, they became an entirely new person. The faults were stripped away, something just slightly more human that a robot emerged. One's identity was completely gone. Destroyed by probing tools and chemicals and the promise of a better future. It was something the Commander had fought with all her power behind her against, and seethed when it had been pushed through the Union Federation's congress. Still, she wasn't above threatening with it. She did so now with relish.

"Please…please, not there. Not there, anywhere but there, please…" it was a whispered plea that got an ironic smile from the woman in front of him. She pushed her blonde hair out of her face, stood up.

"I'm not cruel enough to send you there, but I'm not the one deciding your punishment. It wasn't my child you kidnapped Zachary." She turned to the Doctor. "It was his." The Doctor met Rose's eyes, his own wide in shock.

"I….I am not, no, Rose, no. I can't, Rose. You know I can't." He grimaced. "This is why I don't like to stick around afterwards. I don't deal with the consequences."

"And look where that's got you Doctor." The Doctor frowned.

"I won't Rose. Can't, won't whatever the word you're looking for, that's me." They stared at each other for endless minutes, then three figures rushed in the door. Rose turned to them.

"Javier, make sure that one over there," she pointed at Zach," make sure he's dealt with appropriately for betrayal. Then him." Another gesture towards the still unconscious Zotling. "Then I want a systematic check, room by room sweep of this entire warehouse. Top to bottom. Any foreign tech, cordon off, call me. I'll run by it. Doctor," she turned, found him already out the door and almost to the stairs. Javier raised an eyebrow, then nodded after the Doctor's retreating back. Rose rushed out the door.

She caught him halfway up the next flight of stairs. "You know the way out?" she asked. The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sure I can find it. I'll be in the Tardis, whenever you're done. Isolating Harry is probably the best thing for him. His mind is still healing; he forced too many emotions at once through it." Brown eyes looked into gold. "I'll still be here, whenever you're ready. To come or stay, whichever." He leaned down, kissed her gently on the lips, then the forehead, pressed his forehead to hers, then left, back up the stairs before Rose could say anything. She watched him go.

Her Doctor, he was still alive, still the same, stubborn man he'd been since she met him, still handing out mercy like it was a little league trophy. She was glad at least that hadn't changed.

But she had, she had changed so much since she had left him. Since he had left her, something else she needed to talk to him about. But right now she needed to deal with clean-up, delegation of responsibilities and a rogue alien prisoner.

~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~

The Doctor found the Tardis easily enough. As soon as they had hit ground level, the pull from the telepathic link guided him gently towards her. She sat at the edge of a square, near an unused fountain. The doors opened for him and he carried Harry inside, shutting them and heading towards Harry's rooms.

Everything seemed to happen to Harry, everything bad that had ever happened to any of his companions, little seven year old Harry managed to out-do them by a mile. Well, with a few notable exceptions, but it wasn't as if he was jeopardy-friendly or a trouble magnet. It was is if danger only had to get a whiff of him and it was off, Harry was in trouble; he always ended up in trouble somehow, and he never felt any better for knowing that Harry was still alive.

He set Harry down gently on his bed, took of the tiny boots that Harry insisted on wearing and slipped off the small jacket he had found in the wardrobe. He tucked the blankets around him, watched Harry curl up in them, and sighed softly. Little Harry, so unpredictable, so uncaring of his own life. At some point he would have to make a more concentrated effort to remind Harry that he was only a child, that he could get hurt. Now though, now, with Harry isolated and contained and out of harm's way, he had other, more pressing matters to attend to. Like Rose. Rose being alive, Rose being unable to die, Rose being…Rose being here. Here and solid and he could hold her.

Rose being a hundred and fifty years older than she had been when he had left her. Time had passed for him, enough time that her loss wasn't a festering sore that sent agonizing pains through him every time it was prodded, enough time that Harry had filled a part of him he didn't even know he needed filling and had helped him heal, enough time that he didn't turn and expect to see her grinning at him with her tongue between her teeth, brown eyes alight with amusement and happiness. But a hundred and fifty years was a long time. Long enough for him to know Rose had changed. She had grown up, she had gotten older, she had become responsible and determined and able to handle herself without him. He didn't even know if he was still necessary, if she still needed or wanted him around, if he was anything more than a distant memory. Human memory was a very strange thing. He remembered his past if perfect detail, all of it, a side effect of being a Time Lord. Human memory was fluid, the details could and would change; the more often one remembered something, the more it changed.

He lounged in a chair beside the pool, a book in his lap, his eyes not reading the words. He had come here to see Rose, to make sure she had lived a good life, loved, moved on. He hadn't counted on making it here a century too late and still finding her. Still finding Rose, defending the Earth. Even had her own name, the Commander. And her eyes, gold and bright. The same golden light that had emanated from the Tardis console, light that indicated Huon particles and vortex energy and so much more.

Rose had never been meant to be cursed like she had, to live forever in an unending life. If he was right, she would outlive him now, never mind the forever part. It scared him, because time had a changing quality on everyone it touched. No one was ever the same after being affected by time, and a hundred and fifty years of it would change anyone. Even Jack Harkness, con artist extraordinaire, had changed. He commanded attention, he knew the value of life, since his own was never ending, he longed for death because he couldn't die. It was a scary thing.

He knew how time changed a person. He had started out, exiled on Earth with his granddaughter, a haughty, stubborn old man with a penchant for looking down on humans. Always trying to be older, wiser than he was because his own people couldn't. Now, older than he could remember (he said nine hundred like a woman in her forties said twenty. He just didn't want to remember), he tried to hide the years he had lived in a bundle of energy and movement and knowledge and unending thirst for adventure. With Harry, he had someone to show the universe to. Someone to share it with, someone who would value it because it was his home, the entire universe his home. There was some lesson about corrupting influences there, the knowledge that Harry might never be satisfied with a stationary life on one planet, the possibility of him dying young, but with those wide green eyes, he couldn't help but let him see the universe in all its magnificence.

Now he was back on Earth, back in a parallel universe where Rose was immortal and might travel with him again, and he felt the blame for it fall squarely on his shoulders. Rose had been affected by the time vortex far more than she had said. It hadn't shown, not at first, but no one could hold that much power in their body, control that much energy, without being changed on a fundamental level. Rose was timeless. Timeless and unending and would become an integral part of the universe, he could feel it. And the reason could be put on his shoulders. On the shoulders of a him with large ears and nose, who wore a black leather jacket and tight jeans, who had just found a ray of sunshine after years of torment and had taken it for himself.

He was still sitting beside the pool when a warm, female hand clasped his. He looked up into gold eyes and tried not to let the emotions running through him show on his face. He had evidently failed because Rose sighed softly and pulled away, then yanked him into a hug.

"Doctor, when will you stop blaming yourself for things you couldn't control?" she asked, almost as if not expecting an answer. Good, because he didn't have an answer for her.

~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~

Rose had taken the time necessary to speak with Javier alone, away from the prying ears of those he had brought along. He looked at her seriously, his dark black eyes flat. Rose appreciated this in him, his seriousness and commitment to duty. It was what made him the functioning head of Torchwood, since Rose couldn't and wouldn't be in any government documents.

"Commander, you are leaving then?" Javier wasn't surprised then. Rose nodded.

"Yes. I will be turning over control of all Torchwood operations to you, the security map and grid of every Torchwood base around the world. The heads of the Asian and American bases already send their reports to you, the African, Antarctic, and Australian bases will be notified of the change of command." Javier's eyes widened imperceptibly, then he nodded.

"Will you be coming back at any time in the future?"

"No. I doubt it. I trust you to take care of things here." Javier smiled a thin smile.

"I don't doubt that Torchwood will be less without you, but we can take care of business here just fine. We might just have to find a new heavy hitter for the fields." He quirked a brow. "Or a team." Rose smiled.

"You will also need to run full backgrounds on everyone within the compound and any new employees you hire. I will run a check of my own before I leave and send you the results, before I lock my station."

"I am to assume your offices will remain locked for further use?"

Rose waved a dismissive hand. "No. I won't be coming back, it would be a waste of space. You can take control of them or appoint someone to them, but don't leave them to get dusty. They served me well."

"I understand Commander, and if I may be so bold, may I ask your name, since you won't be returning?" It was something that he had wondered about for years, ever since he had been hired on and the young-looking woman had appointed him her second in command without so much as an introduction. Everyone else had told him she was the Commander. Rose smiled a wide and genuine smile, one he hadn't seen before. Her eyes lit up.

"Rose. My name is Rose. Someone in this universe should remember the Tyler family, since I won't be here." Javier's eyes widened.

"The Tylers? Rose Tyler, you're Rose Tyler?" And wasn't that just a kick in the ass. Rose Tyler, long lost heir to the Tyler family fortune, believed to be running around somewhere in the wilderness (or her progeny at least), Commander of Torchwood. Rose smiled and nodded.

"I'll leave you to finishing the work here. I'll make sure the security codes are sent to your desktop and the employee files. Goodbye Javier, and thanks for your work here." Javier saluted and Rose smiled lightly. "No need for that."

"You've saved the planet enough times to deserve it Comman…Rose Tyler." Javier smiled though. "It was good serving under you." Rose nodded. Then she left, heading out and up to the surface, finding her way back to headquarters and down to her office.

Harry had packed what little she had (the little imp had packed her underthings too, she noticed, a smile on her face). He had missed the secret compartment above her bed, where she kept things from before, when her family had been alive, when she had traveled with the Doctor. Her phone, still working. It had been well used, its photos well perused, the buttons no longer showing any numbers. A camera, new battery made it still operational. It held pictures of her family, Tony and his partner Jeff, their adopted daughter Kelly (she had died before having any children, an auto accident). Her mother and father, the Doctor's metacrisis, then pictures of her Doctor, both of them. The memory of this model had been expanded as technology improved, and the thousands of photographs had been viewed and loved and printed out many many times. Eventually, as memories pressed, she had put the camera away.

Her pink sweatshirt, now grey with age. Small collectibles she had in her pockets from her times on different planets, in different times. She put them all inside one of the two bags she had. Then she ran the background tests again, checked deeper, sent the results to Javier's terminal with an encrypted email with the passcodes. It took her ten minutes to finish. Technology had grown easy and quick to use over the years, something she found both intriguing and annoying. When one had all the time in the world, one relied on some things to slow one down. When the computer started operating efficiently about seventy years ago and only improved in speed, she had had to find other ways to fill her days.

As the lights powered down and Rose stood in the elevator, watching as her office shut down, she could only feel a sigh of relief. After all this time, all this waiting, staring up at the still unreachable stars and yearning to see them again, to do something, anything than stay on the ground where no one knew her anymore, and she didn't really know anyone either, she was leaving. And she was leaving with the Doctor.

The Tardis wasn't hard to find, a blue police box stood out among the bright reds and yellows and crisp greens and whites of the buildings, and the fact that it was relieved by the black stone of a monument to those lost in the third World War made it all the easier to find. She fumbled, trembling with the key, and opened the door.

The bright pulse of light staggered her backwards, and she held onto the cool metal railing she hadn't felt in a century and a half. A warm song filled her mind, her ears tingled at the non-sound, her eyes blinked away tears and sparkles and light. The door shut behind her and she could hear the welcoming presence of the Tardis, telling her she was home.

She nearly fell to the metal grated floor right there. It was good to be home, it was good to be back to the one place she had truly felt alive in. Her whole being felt whole once more, as if she had been missing some part of herself and she hadn't known it until it was filled.

She pat the console lovingly, then asked "Can you help me find the Doctor?" The Tardis let the image of the library bloom in her mind and she smiled. "Thank you old girl. You're amazing." The Tardis purred in contentment. She had missed Rose too.

Unerringly Rose headed down the corridors and to the library, knowing exactly where it was. It was as if the Tardis hadn't wanted her to get lost, had wanted her to find him. It was probably true. Rose smiled. The door was open, the rows and rows of books set around and beside a giant swimming pool. The Tardis was starting to match the Doctor for eccentricity, a swimming pool in a library. Or a library in the pool room. Something.

The Doctor was sitting, staring at a book without reading it, eyes troubled and full of self-loathing, hands folded under his chin. Rose sighed. He would always blame himself for things, would always feel as if he were the one to blame for the wrongs in the universe, all of the wrongs.

She had hoped Harry had knocked that out of him, but apparently the tiny tot hadn't managed it yet. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice her until she put a hand on his. He looked up at her, and she could see the hate and pain and sorrow on his face as if he had written them there with permanent marker. She sighed. Only one remedy for this, really. She pulled him up, surprised at the ease in which he followed her direction, and wrapped her arms around him. She felt his go around her, hold her as if she might break. She sighed into his chest.

"Doctor, when will you stop blaming yourself for things you can't control?" He didn't answer, which was answer enough. She pulled back slightly, looked at him directly. "It's not your fault, the fact that I'm…death-proof." She grinned, irony in her smile. "I've had a while to get used to it. Long enough that nothing you could possibly say about blaming yourself would change that fact. It's happened, it's over." The Doctor's eyes misted.

"But I'm the reason you were stuck there Rose. Why you had to live alone." Rose sighed.

"And we'll get to the leaving me behind thing in a while, but I understand. Really, I do. I might not like it and I might have spent a decade throwing flammable darts at your picture, but I do understand why you left me. In a weird, Doctor-y like way." She smiled. "You left me with a you, a Doctor. He just wasn't you. Not really. Too much of Donna mixed into a personality that was volatile and couldn't stay still for longer than five minutes. No one was surprised when he died. We were more shocked that he lived so long. He couldn't settle down, but you couldn't have known that. And don't start on the I should have known that tangent. You aren't all knowing. From what I remember, you are rather thick about things a lot of the time." Rose sighed, looked back at the Doctor.

The Doctor didn't really know what to day. Rose had that effect, had always had that effect, the ability to just stun him with words. He couldn't do more than pull her into him, tighten his hold, and just feel her in his arms. Her head tucked under his chin, her arms around his waist, her hair, honey colored and curling past her shoulders, tickling his nose. Her heart beat reassuringly against his chest, her breath whooshed over his collar bone, her fingers tightened against his back, clenched in his suit jacket.

"What did I ever do to deserve someone like you? You and Harry, both of you." His voice was soft and full of choked emotion. Rose smiled.

"You were just you Doctor. Nothing more, nothing less. That's all you need to be. Harry needs a father, here you are, full of energy and knowledge and two hearts large enough for the Universe. When you picked me up, I needed adventure, excitement, something different. There you stood, in leather with sad blue eyes and a blue box that traveled through time and space." She pulled back slightly, though not far, the doctor wouldn't let her move too far away, and tiled her head up so she could look at him closely. "And I fell in love with that big eared, blue eyed mad man. Then he changed, a skinny geek with pinstripes and trainers and so much energy and excitement and smiles and laughter, but still just a mad man with a box. And I loved him too." Her hand ran through spiky brown hair. "And if he could ever forgive himself, that mad man with his blue box could love himself again."

The Doctor blinked slowly, dark eyes misty. How had he lived without this wonderful woman with her knowing eyes and heart full of love and just everything? Rose, his Rose who loved him regardless of how much he screwed up or how often he landed them in a jail or whatever he did, she loved him. Did she still, could she still? Had a hundred and fifty years dulled her emotions? He looked at her.

"Do you still need me?" he asked softly, heart in his throat. He looked everywhere but her face. He heard her laugh softly.

"Doctor, the day I don't need you is the day I die, and since that isn't happening any time soon, you're just going to have to get used to having me around." She tiled her head. "And you? How long has it been for you?" She pursed her lips. "Not as long as I had to wait, you wouldn't have stayed with the same face," she teased gently. "But how long?"

The Doctor sighed, thought back. He never misplaced years, not the years Rose was gone. His age, yeah, he forgot that on purpose, but the time since Rose had left, he would never forget it. How could he? He watched her fly toward the void, almost vanish into it, he father catching her at the last minute. She had almost vanished into the blackness of nothingness, and he had felt his hearts stop, jolt, stutter, then start again when she had been saved. Then she had come back, years later for him, only four for her, and he had felt his hearts start to beat again, pump blood around consciously, had jolted when she stood there, gun in hand, blonde hair, brown eyes, red lips, then he had left her on that beach again. And now, here she stood, a hundred a fifty years later for her, and for him,

"37 years, five months, four days, three hours and ten minutes," he said softly. Rose blinked, sighed, smiled.

"Sometimes I forget you have time running through your brain, then you know how many minutes it's been since you last saw me and it all comes rushing back." She leaned up on tiptoe, face to face with him. "Well, Doctor, long enough for me to know that, no matter how long it's been, I should have snogged you when I was still twenty and naïve." And she pressed her lips to his gently, hand twining around his tie to pull him closer.

The Doctor felt his hearts soar and sing and possibly the pleased rumble of the Tardis in the background. The kiss in Rose's rooms had been a desperately needed reminder that the other was there, physically, that they existed. This, this was something that, in any movie, would be accompanied by fireworks or waves on a beach or some other sappy, romantically lit scene. Here though, in a library/swimming pool room, inside a small blue box, it couldn't have been anything other than what they had been waiting for for years.

They breathed together, hands resting, not pulling at clothes, not yanking at hair, not desperately scrambling for skin. Rose had the Doctor's tie in one hand, the other around and cradling his neck. The Doctor was running fingers through soft tresses with one, the other resting on the small of her back. It contrasted with the quick and heady kisses, soft and hard at once, nipping teeth and soothing tongue, the fact that one had forgotten toothpaste this morning and the other tasted oddly of garlic and spaghetti (Harry's breakfast food choice of the day) didn't matter. Just the physical contact, the pressure of bodies and mouths and heat and cold and the beat of hearts was all they seemed to need at the moment.

~~~~This is an Ending~~~~~

So…here it is. Rose Tyler's return. I hope I haven't done it injustice (besides the extraordinarily long wait between this chapter and the last…) and there is a side story I will upload shortly as a companion to this, Rose's story. Quite a few of your questions will probably be explained there.

As to all of you amazing, wonderful, brilliant reviewers, readers, alerters, followers, all, Thank you. Seeing your notices in my inbox all the time finally gave me the kick to get this done and put it up. I will hopefully have replies to you as soon as possible, school and paper due tomorrow permitting.

Kuroi out.


	11. In Which the Consequences Become Obvious

Hey, a new chapter! How awesome! While I wasn't able to actually finish NaNoWriMo for the first time in four years, I did get the beginning of the next adventure written and should have it finished soon! Thank you all! Hope you enjoy! It is a direct continuation from the end of the last chapter, a new thing for me in this story.O.O

~~~~~This is a Beginning~~~~~

A moment decidedly interrupted by the squeak of a small child. The Doctor and Rose separated, one sighing the other smiling. "Harry's gonna learn how to knock before walking into rooms," the Doctor said decidedly. Rose smiled.

"He's a kid, what's the worst that can happen?"

The Doctor raised and eyebrow. "His uncle is Jack Harkness. He has access and knows how to use most of the various pieces of technology used to capture images in about three dozen different formats and the ability to send said images to Jack Harkness. I would rather said Captain doesn't get a hold of some of them." Rose laughed.

"Turning into a prude in your old age, Doctor?" The Doctor's ears reddened.

"I like to keep my dignity intact, thank you very much. And what's happened to you, what happened to the blushing and turning red?" Rose shrugged a shoulder, smiled.

"After having to face down an invading army of squirming, giant pink fuzzballs in nothing more than a towel, you sort of lose that bit of modesty." Rose eyed the Doctor up and down. "And someday soon, I'll make sure the only thing your wearing is that tie." The Doctor flushed slightly, but smirked.

Harry peeked back around the door. "Dad, Rose, you done trying to suck each other's internal organs out through your mouths?" he asked, eyes shut tight. Rose laughed.

"Yes Harry, we are. Are you alright?"

"Fine. Headache's gone and everything. All good. Anyway, Dad, that diary of Rassilon's, the last few pages, did you see them?" The Doctor frowned, tilted his head. Shook it. Harry sighed. "They mentioned a few complications of the tunnel. As in, destabilization and time frames and leaking into the universal planes and the screen is starting to turn black so I thought I might want to warn you." Harry and Rose watched as the Doctor froze, then raced out of the room, mumbling under his breath.

"Of course, of course, how could I have missed it? How thick am I? I need a bigger brain!" Rose followed Harry, who had taken off after his dad and was dashing down the halls, at a more sedate pace. She was sure that whatever was happening, it would still be happening when she got there and she wasn't going to be able to contribute to the higher-dimensional mathematics in any way.

The hallways of the Tardis were still a comforting yellow shade, matching the coral of the console room. They still twisted and turned and folded out into various dimensions and directions. She missed this, the feeling of walking aimlessly in a circle while still accomplishing forward momentum and getting somewhere. There weren't very many places one could do this, except in the Tardis.

She made it to the console room not long after Harry and the Doctor did, only to find it in a state of absolute chaos. The Doctor stood at the console itself, frantically jabbing buttons and spinning knobs and pulling levers, all the while shouting to the suspiciously absent Harry.

Or so she thought, until she saw the pair of feet poking out of the floor in the general directions of yelps of pain and sparks. It also seemed to be the direction the Doctor was shouting in. The words, however, she wasn't quite sure she understood.

"Harry! You need to disconnect the flux capacitors and redistribute the positive flow with the dimensional stabilizers and plug the vortex transmogrifiers into the internal spacial reductional vents!" Rose kept herself to the back wall. Technology from 21st and 22nd century Earth she could handle with no problem whatsoever, having a century with plenty of free time meant taking things apart and putting them back together and discovering that this little wire right there would cause mass electrocution if misplaced. This dimension of engineering wasn't on her scale of feasible. She didn't have a century of taking it apart.

How Harry knew what went where, well, he grew up on the ship. It was only logical that he could recognize things. This is what she told herself to make sense of why the seven year old could engineer such a complex ship as the Tardis.

Harry's head popped back above the grill line. He smiled at her, face covered in soot and oil. "Alright dad, everything reconnected, the artron energy flow should be distributed amongst the dimensional stabilizers and manipulators, since you seem to forget those, and the vortex transmogrifiers should be compensating for the screw up in the tunnel's leakage." The Doctor beamed at the child.

"Brilliant Harry! Absolutely brilliant! Now, let's see if we can get her back through the tunnel before it collapses!"

Rose raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said it was a stable tunnel," she said, a hint of mocking in her tone. The Doctor scratched his head sheepishly.

"Yeah, well, it was, until I remembered I hadn't taken into account the lack of stabilization in the void dimension and the bleeding of time. I mean, before the war, the Void had been stabilized to allow for travel between the equations I used stabilized the tunnel but couldn't accommodate the space between the dimensions because no one knew what was there at the the time. When Tardis's could travel from dimension to dimension, it had taken an entire team working with some of the most advanced equipment to figure out the precise balances needed. It was only after they were lost that the equations and stabilizers were gone. I…didn't factor that into the calculations…." Harry snorted. The Doctor looked at him, a smile affixed to his face.

"It's something he would miss, wouldn't it?" Harry said to Rose.

"Oi!"

"Yep, it is indeed. Always forgetting the common sense," she agreed.

"Oi! Right here!"

Harry and Rose turned to the Doctor, mock astonishment on their faces. "Really? I didn't see you!" The Doctor huffed.

"Well, if you wanted to know, we're heading back now, so I would hold on if I were you," he said, sniffing. Rose smiled. Harry clambered into one of the chairs and pulled what appeared to be a seatbelt over his shoulder and clicked it into place. The Doctor grinned at her and she climbed up beside him at the console. She held onto the railing. "Here we go!" And he threw a lever.

The Tardis rolled. Literally, on its side, and the only one who didn't find themselves flung about was Harry, who had raised his arms above his head and cheered. The Doctor and Rose were holding onto the railing and grinning at each other.

"I missed this," Rose yelled over the noise and racket. The Doctor grinned wider.

Another turn, a bump, massive, and a dizzying spin, before they were set down with a none too gentle thump. Steam poured from the floor vents and the lights flashed red. Rose and the Doctor, now laying on the grill, and Harry, unbuckling and hurrying over, sighed in relief. Until the shrill scream of the siren had the Doctor and Rose jumping to their feet. Harry gave them a withering stare.

"Where are we?" Rose asked. Harry looked at her.

"Earth, 2009, about an hour after we dropped uncle Jack off. The Tardis defaulted to the most recent stop on Earth, easiest coordinates, closest to the parallels. But we have another problem." Harry gestured to the screen. "I can't read Gallifreyian that fast, but I got enough to figure out that time still isn't completely stable. It went all wonky with the transfer of dimensions. It's bleeding back into this dimension."

The Doctor's eyes were wide, reading, his lips reading out the words without sounds. Harry and Rose watched him, then he suddenly flared into life.

"Out, out, out of the Tardis! Now! Out out out!" Harry and Rose were forcibly evicted from the Tardis and the Doctor rushed after them, slamming the door shut. He sagged against it. Rose looked at him in concern.

"What was that about?" she asked. The Doctor looked at her.

"I dunno, but the warning lights….it was almost as if I had regenerated and she was trying to fix herself too…I dunno…Harry!" Harry had his hands pressed against the wooded shell and his eyes closed. His necklace was in one hand. "Don't…Rose, don't don't touch him." Rose had reached out to get his attention, but her hand froze inches from the boy's arm.

"What is he doing?" she asked. The Doctor sighed.

"He's, in effect, talking to the Tardis. They have a connection, through Harry's magic. They communicate, but Harry usually has to be inside for it to work properly. Outside, he has to have a physical connection and he can't have the necklace on, it restrains the intrinsic connection. But he's already had a massive shock to his brain and he hasn't quite recovered from it. The Tardis just dulled it until he could fully heal. Which means," he raised his voice as Harry stumbled away from the Tardis, "he shouldn't be messing with any magic of any sort whatsoever." Harry grinned at him, then winced, raising a hand to his head. A trickle of blood imitated a tear, rolling down his cheek. He swayed.

The Doctor caught him quickly, sighed. Harry's eyes rolled upwards to look at his father.

"She's…fixing herself….the travel…messed with her systems…she has to…change…slightly...locked up…for now." His speech was halting and slow, and he had a couple more shallow breaths before he fainted. The necklace was still in his hands, and the Doctor replaced it, the shimmering gold loops standing out brightly against the black of Harry's shirt. Then he bundled the boy up, holding him to his chest protectively. He looked at Rose.

"Torchwood is just over there. Jack'll have something for Harry and you two can catch up." He sighed, looked down at his child. "Why does he always manage to get himself hurt?" Rose snorted. The Doctor looked at her, eyebrows raised. "What?"

"All you have to do is look at his dad. I mean, always running into the thick of things, always in danger. The only reason you don't end up flat on your back every single time is you've got a millennium on him. Harry's seven, Doctor, but he's already trying to be like you. I'm not surprised, really." She paused. "And what's this about magic?"

"Hail Tardis!" A loud, masculine voice shouted out. The Doctor and Rose turned, and a giant grin spread over Rose's face.

"You are telling me about it later," she warned, then raised her voice. "Hail Captain Harkness!" A sound of someone stumbling over their feet as they tried to run reached their ears, and a tall, handsome man in a long grey coat appeared around the corner. His eyes were wide, disbelieving, as he stared at the blonde haired girl.

"Rose? Rose Tyler? Is that really you?" Rose grinned impishly at him. "But you haven't been gone an hour…damn Time Machine."

"Still have that coat, I see. Haven't blown it up yet?" Jack grinned.

"Got a closet full for the occasion," he joked back. He rushed forward, swept her up in a hug. "It's been too long. How…?" he looked over at the Doctor, then saw Harry, blood dripping down the boy's face, and frowned. "Tell me later. What I want to know is what happened to the little imp over there." He glanced up at the sound of thunder. "As soon as we get back to the office." And he whirled around, taking Rose by the arm as he did so. The Doctor grinned, Harry snoring softly in his arms and followed them. Jack was chattering happily to Rose, mostly inane, nonsensical things that amounted to weather talk, but the tight grip he hand on her arm, the quick, disbelieving looks he sent at her constantly, an almost in awe of her existence and also just checking to make sure she didn't vanish in the second it took to check that walking into a wall wasn't in their path. It wasn't so different from the Doctor's current attitude towards Rose's strange and wondrous reappearance into his life. With an abrupt finding of a book that led to the creation of a wormhole that brought them to her reality where she was still alive, it all seemed somehow too convenient to him, especially since the Universe wasn't on his side in most cases. Rose and Harry, he had them both? When had things ever worked out so well.

Jack took the scenic route into Torchwood headquarters, the descending platform. Rose enjoyed the trip down, despite the commonality of similar feats of technology she had had access to in her world. She was more interested in catching up with Jack, what he had been up to, why he was still running Torchwood, how he ran it and any other number of things. Jack laughed as he kept pace with her questions.

"Still run it from here, a central hub of information, really. Used to have a team, but well, you know what happens to Torchwood agents." She had told him of her own position. Rose nodded solemnly.

"Life span isn't long."

Jack smiled ironically. "And as I can't die, well, that always makes this job suck."

Rose smiled. "I can empathize."

Jack nodded, smiling, before he stopped, his mind backtracking the conversation.

"Huh?"

"Immortality sucks when you run an organization where the average life span in 5 years, but it seems appropriate, really. You can't die, you keep everything else in check." Jack squinted his eyes at her.

"You have got to be kidding me. Really." Rose shrugged. "Don't you ever look older? I mean, I find grey hairs her and there, I look slightly older. Granted, after a couple millennia buried alive, one would, but still."

"I don't ever look older. I'm frozen in time, really, is what it comes down to. My biological structure hasn't changed in a hundred and fifty years, a hundred and fifty seven years, to be exact."

The Doctor, who had been busy setting Harry down on a nearby couch and checking over the child's physical condition, looked up, eyes wide.

"What did you say?" he said, incredulity in his voice.

Rose looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Frozen in time. My biology hasn't changed since Platform 5 when I looked into the heart of the Tardis. About the same time I brought Jack back, I think. About the same time all of this stuff happened, really. About the only thing I can affect a change on is my musculature and my hair. Mostly I just stripped the dye away. Hasn't gotten any longer since then." She tilted her head, considering. "I heal up at a normal pace, for the most part. Nails grow back to their original form. If I die mangled, I come back with bleach blonde hair and ragged nails. It's rather irritating." The Doctor looked at her with wide eyes, then looked at Jack, narrowed them, looked back to Rose, and clapped suddenly.

"Oh, yes, why didn't I sense it? Oh I am daft!"

"Well known fact, Doctor. What is it?"

The Doctor ignored Jack and gestured expansively between the two of them and himself. "You know how I once said that you were wrong Jack, since you were a fact, a fixed point?" Jack nodded, smiling.

"Yep. Made me feel all tingly inside." Rose shoved him gently.

"You still feel wrong, in a strange sense, but it isn't bad, really, just odd. But Rose here, I never got that feeling, never. Not once. I mean, something should have happened to her, she looked into the heart of the Time Vortex, even I had to regenerate, but no ill effects, nothing, well, nothing noticeable. Not at first, really. But now, now that I concentrate, knowing that she's well, immortal, I can sense a difference in the time energy that flows around her. It's less like a stone in the middle of the river, like the good Captain here, more like well, more like the river, I guess, like, well, like the Tardis if I had to give it a name." He stood there, hand tangled in his hear, a confused expression on his face. Rose laughed.

"I'm being compared to an ageless ancient time machine. It doesn't get much better than that." Jack smiled, then looked directly at the Doctor.

"Now that that's sorted, how is Rose here, why are half the scanners in Torchwood going off and why is Harry unconscious and bleeding from his ears?" This last part was said as Jack got up and moved over towards the small boy. He knelt down next to Harry, gripped a small hand in his and looked up at the Doctor. The Time Lord sighed into his hands, leaning back against the wall.

"Started about a week ago, give or take. Took Harry to the Shadow Proclamation, boy wasn't that a fun trip." He said it with enough sarcasm to get his point across. Jack smiled, Rose laughed. "Anyway, we ended up in the library and Harry found a diary written in Gallifreyian, it's inside his jacket at the moment." Jack rustled through Harry's clothes until he came up with the book, then stared at it, eyes wide. The circles and lines and circles made his head spin. "Yes, that. It's Rassilon's diary, long before he was president of Gallifrey. Before there had been stable portals or Tardis's able to breach the Void to other Universes, and he explored the possibility in that book. When Harry got to the math, something he couldn't figure out, he gave it to me. Your alarms are going off because I forgot in my haste to account for the backlash of the Time and Space vortex mixing with the Void and seeping into the tunnel I created through into the parallel universe. Right now, and for the next few hours, there is a localized field of time disturbance about fifty feet from the Tardis. And I have to make sure it doesn't get any bigger or that no one stumbles across it." The Doctor sighed. Jack nodded.

"Well, that's how Rose is here, but how did Harry end up like that? Can't be just the travel, he's had worse." The Doctor sighed, screwed up his eyes, breathed deep.

"He took his necklace off too many times for his mind to handle." A hand swiped across a tired face as the Doctor related the last twelve hours, ending with Jack's arrival. Jack sat and listened, eyes flickering every so often, then he looked over at Harry.

Rose stood back and watched them, watched Jack with Harry and the Doctor. These two people, men she hadn't seen in far too long, people she was inexplicably drawn to. Jack, also immortal, actions caused by her own hand. The Doctor, who knows how old, still a mystery and still someone she cared for, loved (that picture she threw darts at was somewhere amongst her papers in her bags). And now Harry, a child, raised in the Tardis by the Doctor, seven years old and already trying to save the universe and be just like his dad. His dad, who was not someone to emulate, Rose thought. His dad who ended up in all sorts of life threatening trouble a seven year old shouldn't be in, who got out with his brain and nerve and sheer luck sometimes. Still, it was heartening, seeing the Doctor just that much happier, his eyes sparkling with delight when he looked at Harry, shining when he looked at her, so far from the sad blue eyes he had when he met her, the manic, somehow optimistic chocolate brown when he regenerated, and that ageless pain when she saw him again. He looked happier, like he had something to live for, rather than just counting the seconds until one death trap wouldn't be escapable.

"So then, what are we going to do about the scanners?" She interrupted the conversation that was starting to turn towards Jack goading the Doctor with flirts and eye rolls from the Time Lord. They looked over at her, and the Doctor cleared his throat awkwardly. She snorted.

"Well, I was going to use the equipment here, since the Tardis is all locked up." He looked at Jack for permission, and he gave it with a nod of his head. "Then I'll go take a look. Rose, coming?" Rose smiled and nodded. While it was a strange experience, giving up command after having it for well on a a hundred years, it was also a bit of a relief. Someone else in charge would probably rub her the wrong way eventually, but for now she would enjoy not having to make the first decision.

Jack held onto the tiny, cool hand a little longer. Such a small person, Harry was. He didn't seem all that small, not when he was talking and running and laughing.

He laid a hand on Harry's cheek, marveling at how small he was, how small his cheek was. His hand could cover most of his face, and Harry's own hand, Jack judged, would fit comfortably in his palm, all fingers outstretched and everything. Harry was so small, so much life in such a tiny body.

A body that ended up unconscious and hurt more times than he was comfortable with, especially for a seven year old.

"You've known Harry for a while, haven't you?" Jack whirled around, surprised. Rose stood behind him, leaning on the railing, hand crossed over her chest and a smile on her face.

"Make more noise next time, would ya?" he asked. Rose grinned.

"It's an art I rather enjoyed perfecting," she said. Jack chuckled.

"You would. Yeah, I've known Harry a while. He was three or so. Four years for him." Rose nodded.

"For you?" Jack raised and eyebrow.

"Not much longer, honestly. I only come back here sporadically, usually to make sure Britain isn't overrun with aliens and the like. Right now I'm reorganizing a new team. Cardiff needs one at the rift, I can't just drift without someone here, but I always feel bad leaving them alone." Rose nodded at his words. She probably would have felt the same, she was sure.

"They bring a lot of life with them, don't they?"

"Enough to fill the galaxy with and more besides." Jack grinned. "Isn't life so dull when they aren't around?"

Rose laughed. "Better believe it."

Jack smiled, then sighed. "But Harry here ends up hurt more often than I like, especially for a seven year old."

Rose snorted. "Look at his Dad, yeah? It's no wonder."

Jack tilted his head. "How so?"

"You know the Doctor, always running into any dangerous situation he can whenever he can, however he can, if it's to save someone. He hasn't changed, not one bit, no matter how long it's been. And Harry's always there with him, his whole life, by the side of that crazy man. He's trying to be just like his dad. You did the same when you were a kid, I bet, trying to be like one of your parents. I know I spent part of my childhood wanting to be just like my mum. Grew out of it," Rose said. Jack snorted, but he was nodding.

"I see your point. Everyone else he's ever had as a companion before were always old enough to take care of themselves without the Doctor around, had already grown up, huh?"

Rose nodded. "All except little Harry here, who was raised by him. Can you imagine that, raised by the Doctor? I love him to pieces, but as a father figure? He isn't the most self-responsible of people. When I met him, he was just waiting for something to kill him. I'm glad that impulse is gone."

Jack sighed. "It came back, after you got trapped in the parallel world. When I met up with him again, it was like he was still trying to find death." He wrinkled his nose. "By the way, what is our dear Doctor doing with my equipment."

Rose shrugged. "I have no clue. He started on what looked like a computer array set up to monitor the rift activity, then pulled out the sonic screwdriver and started taking it apart. Since I was obviously not going to add anything constructive, I was coming back to ask what you knew about Harry's magic. Now, however, it's been about twenty minutes since he's started and there hasn't been an explosion yet, so it's due any second…"

"ROSE! JACK! COME ON! WE HAVE A TIME RIFT TO CLOSE!" a shout which was immediately followed by the sound of an explosion, something electronic fizzing out of control. Rose smiled.

"Right on time. Well then Captain Jack, will you be my escort to world saving?" She held out an arm. Jack smiled, kissed Harry's forehead, and nodded graciously.

"Certainly Dame Rose, and may I say you look lovely for a spot of world saving." They giggled back down the corridor, and Harry slept on, healing slowly.

~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~

"So Doctor, you figure out what set the scanners off?" Jack leaned against the wall nearest the computer console the Doctor had taken apart. "I hope you can put that back together. The equipment is expensive." The Doctor waved a dismissive hand.

"Works better now anyway. And yes, I have figured out what set the scanners off. When we arrived back in this universe, the instability of the dimensional vortex that we created also messed with the flux of the temporal field that is already slightly out of synch with the main timeline of the area but that's caused by the dimensionality of the rift…" the Doctor and Rose watched the Doctor babble on for a few more minutes, going off on a tangent about the rift and something about crystallization of time before Rose stepped in, dragged the Doctor up and around and kissed him. The Doctor froze.

It wasn't a kiss meant to raise the temperature but more of a convenient way to get the Doctor to stop talking. It didn't hurt that it was the Doctor. Jack laughed and clapped.

"Wha…?"

Rose huffed. "We didn't quite catch the reason for the scanners screamin' and you started talking about time shards. It was an easy way to get your attention." She shrugged. The Doctor stared at her while Jack laughed in the background.

"Can I give that a shot next time?" the captain asked from behind Rose. The Doctor glared indignantly but Rose merely turned a winning smile on him, her eyes sharp. Jack laughed a bit nervously. "Alright, then, maybe not."

"Thought so. Anyway, Doctor?" The Doctor looked slightly dazed, before he shook his head and blinked several times.

"Alright, well, what I was saying"

"The shorter, human version that doesn't involve fifth dimension mathematics," Rose interrupted him, smiling. The Doctor frowned, then nodded.

"Well, what's happened is the instability of the portal also affected the rift, and the rift is a tear in space/time. The portal is connected to the void, which is basically nothing, though there's a lot of debate about what is actually there, but for now, nothing works. Anyway, this nothing is seeping into the rift, and it is bending the space/time hole and dragging things from it, or taking it away, or something. I'm not quite sure yet on what exactly is physically happening, but, well, it isn't good."

Rose and Jack looked at each other, then Jack pushed off the wall.

"You know, you always manage to bring as much trouble as possible whenever you arrive anywhere. Is this instability affecting the people in the area?"

The Doctor shuffled a bit. "Well, it will be, soon. Crystallized Time often has a detrimental effect on people, freezing them in place, stopping their entire history, erasing things,but it hasn't gotten there yet." He paused. "I think, which is why we need to go now. I need access to your storage rooms Jack, where you keep all the alien technology."

Jack looked at him pointedly, then waved behind him. "In my office, take the stairs down to the stone floor. It's all down there. But make sure you remember what you took! I have to keep the record…wait, stop! The log is behind…ah hell, he's not even listening is he?

Rose chuckled. "Doubt it. But while he's busy building some strange device to close the….whatever's opening, you can answer some questions for me."

Jack swallowed hard. Rose pinned him with her eyes. That golden stare, she knew, broke numerous hardened suspects and would have employees of Torchwood squirming and heading for the door. Jack took it slightly better than most, but he finally sighed.

"Go ahead. Ask your questions."

Rose grinned triumphantly. "Magic. The Doctor mentioned Harry has magic. What did he mean?"

"Well, you start out easy. Harry, from what I understand and have seen, is able to mentally manipulate what the Doctor calls psionic energy, or something really similar, though it isn't quite the same as other species with similar qualities. His people, the magical, can do just about anything with will, words and a specific motion of their wand, or, if they're powerful enough and have enough concentration, just by willing it." Rose blinked, raised an eyebrow.

"So, wand-waving wizards aren't just fairy stories then?"

"Nope. Harry's the real deal. Just, without the wand, from what I understand. Not that he always needs it." Rose nodded at this.

"And the golden chain around his neck. It isn't earth-made, and it seems to control his ability to sense emotions. What is it, and was he born with that ability?" Here Jack sighed deeply.

"Another straight forward question. Just a….tad harder to answer. There was a planet, the Doctor knows the specifics, apparently there was some bad history between him and the ruler. So Zeus, yes, yes, Zeus, took Harry as punishment. Did some things to his brain and his nervous system that really screwed with him. I have never seen the Doctor more pissed than at that moment." Jack swallowed. "He…I think, from what I understood of the situation, the Doctor basically tossed them into a dimension outside of our own, erasing them from the universe. It was a….well, terrifying is a good word."

Rose stared in the direction Harry was sleeping. "A three year old child. Three, three years old, and they…" she couldn't finish the sentence. She breathed deep, knowing that she couldn't do anything about it now except accept it and move on. It didn't mean she wasn't pissed. "Why did the Doctor take Harry with him?" she finally asked. Jack shrugged, smiled.

"Dunno. All I know is that his birth parents were killed when he was barely a year old and the Doctor somehow got a hold of him. For whatever reason, it was good for him, made him happier, saner, saved him, is what Harry did. I remember him after you were trapped, and after he left you again. He thrives on having people around him, they act as a buffer between him and himself, anything he can do to keep from living in the past. But you Rose, you changed him. I didn't notice it at first, not when he had those big ears and blue eyes, but after, after you were gone, he had lost something, something very very important to him. He was scary, Rose. Scary and dangerous and very much looking for a death wish. And now, now he has Harry, the tyke that makes him and just about everyone else smile. You're back too. I'm betting he's wondering what he did to deserve it, cause he can't believe he does. He's just too stubborn, too heard headed, puts his life last on the list."

Jack and Rose stared at each other, both knowing the truth in that statement, and Rose sighed. "I'm glad he found Harry before he deliberately flew the Tardis into a black hole then." She smiled at Jack, her eyes shimmering slightly. "It's good to see you again, it really really is."

Jack snagged her and pulled her into him, hugging her close, and Rose hugged back. "Good to see you too kid," he whispered into her hair.

"Oi, if you two are done, we've got a timeline to save!" Rose huffed and smiled up at Jack, then pulled away and started after the skinny, manic frame of the man who saved the world all too often. Jack trailed after her, shouting something that garnered a laugh from Rose and an eye roll from the Doctor.

~~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~

Harry blinked slowly, his head pounding and his ears ringing. He was laying…on Uncle Jack's bed? They were back from the parallel world, he remembered, they had made it. Then….then…oh, right, dad had realized there was a problem with the tunnel he had created…

So where were they? Why was he in Uncle Jack's bed? Had he fainted? Something itched his cheek, and he scratched at it. Blood came away, dried and cracking. He followed the trail up to his ear. He had overextended himself, he though ruefully. It wasn't as if he hadn't done it before, but he had…he thought about it. He had taken his necklace off and messed with someone else's emotions….twice, one of them major, after he had been drugged, and then the Tardis, he had to communicate with her. He wasn't supposed to take it off, not unless he had too. Now he was paying the consequences.

Boy what consequences they were too. His brain was trying to break out of his skull and he wasn't sure he was going to be able to hear anything in the near future. He also couldn't see his dad, or Uncle Jack, or Rose.

"Dad? Uncle? Rose?" he couldn't hear himself, his ears were full of bells and electronic white noise. Still, no one came into view and he looked around. There, a small blue cube, sitting on the other side of his pillow. His dad always left one, a voice recording, telling him where he had gone in case Harry woke up before he came back. He would have to wait until he could hear his hands clapping before he listened to it, but that's alright. His dad was fine, he could wait to figure out what had happened.

Now he could explore headquarters.

If his body would let him sit up. It took a few attempts, him finding the floor with his face before his feet, but he eventually ended standing up. His head spun. He grasped the bed he had been laying on, finding his balance, and when the world finally decided it would settle down into something resembling stability, he let go and toddled out towards the main room.

He rarely got to explore the Torchwood headquarters, his dad didn't like Torchwood and Uncle Jack didn't bring them here, not unless they didn't have any other choice. And he was never left alone either. But, from what he could see (he still couldn't hear) no one was here. He could explore to his hearts content.

If that blasted beeping would stop….He could hear again! And he could hear a high pitched beeping all around him, accompanied by a bright, flashing red light.

And he was sure his dad was at the center of it.

He walked unsteadily back to his bed and picked up the voice cube. A button on the side flicked it on.

"Harry, before you go haring off to find me and inevitably get into trouble, remember that you have a mild concussion and have damaged some of the synapses in your brain. So stay still. Sleep, read a book, write something, anything. I left the diary for you. Don't follow me, whatever you do. I don't want you to get even more injured. Stay in Jack's rooms, inside Torchwood. And don't mess with anything. Love you. Dad."

Harry sighed, staring at the now inert cube. Of course his dad would have him laying down and keeping it easy when there were interesting things going on. Then again, his head was still spinning. Maybe when it wasn't he would find dad and Uncle Jack and Rose. For now, he was going to wait till the ground was stable.

~~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~

Rose and Jack followed the skinny frame of the Doctor as he raced towards the Tardis, or the general area of the Tardis. Rose and Jack laughed amongst themselves.

"You know, no matter how long it's been, I will never get tired of this!" Rose yelled. Jack laughed.

"I know the feeling!" The Doctor suddenly vanished in a bright golden glow, and Rose and Jack halted suddenly. "Except when this happens."

Rose blinked, looked around.

"Doctor, Doctor!" She sighed. "I've been head of an institute that deals with aliens for the better part of a century and a half and he always manages to find something brand new no one's ever seen."

This had Jack blinking, thinking it over, before joining her in laughter.

"Isn't that the truth."

A sudden shout reached their ears. "Jack! Rose! Come here! This is amazing!"

Jack and Rose looked at each other, raising eyebrows, sighing in unison. "We can't go anywhere unless we know where you are Doctor!" Jack yelled into the swirling mist of gold light.

"What?" came back out of the light.

"Doctor, we can't see you. Where are you?" Rose qualified Jack's statement. Spiky brown hair, followed by shining eyes and a wide smile, popped out of the golden light.

"Come on then. You don't get to see time being crystalized all that often!"

"Are we gonna vanish into some random time if we head in there? Is it only for special Time Lord biology?" Rose asked, eyebrow raised but looking like she was ready to head into the swirling cloud.

The Doctor looked perplexed. "What? Why for? No, of course not, no side effects, well, none that I know of, well, nothing too bad, well, you two will be fine." He held out a hand, and Rose smiled, took it. She held out hers for Jack.

"Never fails to surprise me, you two," Jack commented. Rose and the Doctor grinned, and the Doctor pulled them into the Time Storm.

All around them, golden mist swirled and spun and filled the air. The Doctor held on to Rose's hand tightly, watching as she gazed up in wonder at the dazzling mix of color and light all around them.

"It looks like the light from the Tardis," Rose breathed softly. The Doctor grinned.

"Not quite. It's the vortex, but since it's been filtered through multidimensional space and the rift, the atron energy is being crystalized instead of swirling through this universe and messing with the timelines." He looked over at her, smiling, then froze.

Her eyes were glowing gold, echoing back to that moment on Platform 5. He shook her gently, but she didn't respond. Jack hurried over, worry in his eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"She's glowing. A reaction to the vortex, but I don't know…" Rose's eyes blazed with power, and something spoke through her, a tone the Doctor would never forget.

"I am the Bad Wolf. Born from Time and eternal." Jack's eyes widened and he took a few steps back. The Doctor held onto Rose's hand all the tighter.

"Why are you inside Rose?" He asked, directing the question at the spectral energy. Golden eyes snapped to him. A small smile curved Rose's lips.

"I have always been here. The Past, The Present, The Future, Rose Tyler has been my child, just as you are, Time Lord." Rose's head tilted to the side. "My child is a vessel, Time Lord, a vessel for the will of that which you proclaim lordship over. She has always been, will always be and must always be, just like you will forever evade your fate, the immortal will strive towards death and why your young child will defy the universe."

The Doctor's eyes hardened at the mention of Harry, and he gripped Rose's hand all the tighter. "What are you doing to Rose? Why her?"

A soft laugh was the reply. "Because, Time Lord, the Bad Wolf must always have a vessel. Rose Tyler was a child born with the fate of the universe written into the fabric of reality. What more perfect host than she?" The Bad Wolf looked up amongst the forming crystals of golden time, condensed and capturing eternal moments. "These are the Crystals of Time, a result of the fusion of time and reality and the void, pieces of time taken from the timelines and frozen into perfect crystal shards. It must also be stopped, before it rips the timelines apart."

The Doctor nodded. "That's what I was planning on doing."

The Bad Wolf laughed. "I am sure, Time Lord, just as soon as you were done showing off and expounding on your knowledge about time and space and any other number of things. But we cannot wait for you to finish regaling your tales, this must be sealed."

"Doctor? What's going on?" Jack was standing back from them, pinned by a number of crystals and looking slightly panicked. "I can see the burning of the Library of Alexander in here Doctor!"

"Just…just a minute Jack, I'll get it fixed." He sighed, ran his free hand through his hair, looked back into the blazing gold eyes. "And what about Rose? Why can't she age? She isn't immortal, like Jack. It's something else. You are the Bad Wolf, you create yourself, what does that mean?"

A slow, easy smile. "You ask a lot of questions, Time Lord. Rose is the vessel of Time and until her task is complete, she will remain alive. And as for that task, that is self evident, my child. The Bad Wolf has and always will create itself. It is the nature of the vessel to create themselves, at some point, to come into their power. Rose created herself when she looked into the heart of the Tardis and thus I was created, yet I have always existed." Laughter at the look of confusion on the Doctor's face. "I shall enjoy watching you over the years. Your life is such an interesting one." Gold eyes looked around.

Shards of golden crystals were falling from the sky, crashing into the ground. Several other people had entered the swirling mist of disassociated time and a few were trapped within the crystals. The Doctor's eyes blazed.

"Now, Time Lord, your work here must be finished. Time should not be leaking like this, and I cannot help you. It is not my place. I was granted speech because of the saturation of time in this area, but I cannot fix it. That you must do. Farewell, Time Lord. We shall meet again."

The Doctor watch, helpless, as Rose's eyes closed and her entire body sagged. He lowered her gently to the ground, then stood up, cracking his knuckled, whipping his glasses out and holding some device he had Macgyvered. He looked at Jack, a wild grin on his face.

"Alright Captain, ready for the fireworks?"

Jack, bemused, confused and slightly concerned for probable outcome of this mad fix, just nodded. He wasn't really ready for anything, but he wasn't about to say that, not if the Doctor could get rid of this view of the Coliseum in Rome, somewhere between 15 B.C.E. and 25 C.E.

The Doctor marched towards the center of the spiraling band of gold energy, sonic screwdriver and strange contraption in hand. Jack was stuck helplessly between the bits of….crystalized time. His days with the Doctor never failed to end up strange and convoluted.

In the center was a rip in time and space, a crack created by the Tardis and exacerbated by the presence of the rift. Two (or more) points of time that shouldn't touch. Definitely more than two, since the crack spiraled outwards and had multiple cracks connecting to each other. He plunged his hand into the center of the cracks and held the device outwards, turning the sonic screwdriver on and hearing the boom of transfused energy reach out and touch the cracks.

They sprung wide open, pulling all that has slipped through back, the shards of time rattling, breaking apart and returning. People stuck within the shards were released, unconscious and possibly comatose. The Doctor grimaced but didn't stop. He couldn't, not now. The cracks were expanding, impossibly wider and hungry, drinking in the misplaced energy. The golden light was pulled from the air, yanked back into the cracks, and finally, it closed, sealing itself with nary more than a sigh.

The Doctor fell to the ground, eyes rolled up into his head, unconscious. Jack, now released from his prison, stared at the two unconscious bodies, and sighed. Then he looked around.

People were still and unmoving, there were tendrils of gold floating through the air, and one of the shards still lingered near Rose, touching her hand. He peered into it.

The image trapped inside was of a giant,flying lizard, soaring through the mountains of a time long since passed. A….a dragon? If he had to take a guess, that's what it looked like. He sighed, didn't touch it. He didn't know what it would do. He checked Rose's pulse, found it, and smiled. Alive.

Then the Doctor. He wasn't sure about the pulse, with a double heartbeat the Doctor could have a four beat pulse or no pulse at all. He was breathing, so that was a good sign. He started the rounds of checking for life signs of those who had wandered into the mist. A couple young children, alive. An older woman. Her pulse was thready and the sounds of an ambulance reassured him. A couple, one with a strong pulse, the other thready. The others were fine.

He concentrated on how he was going to get Rose and the Doctor out before the authorities showed up. He definitely didn't want to deal with the police or Unit, who would be called in without a doubt. He sighed, covered up the shard and shoved it into the Doctor's pocket before hoisting him onto his shoulder. The skinny man was way too light for his height. Then he reached Rose, picked her up as best he could, she had muscle on her frame, and headed quickly towards Torchwood headquarters, praying Harry hadn't messed with anything. He didn't think he could handle two unconscious people and a headquarters assaulted by the genius child.

When he finally made it down the stairs and to the nearest couch, where he set Rose down as gently as possible, then the Doctor on the next couch, he examined Torchwood operations. He smiled; headquarters was fine. Aside from the Doctor's tinkering, it looked as if it hadn't been touched. It was a relief, a small one albeit, but a relief, until he realized that might be because Harry was still unconscious. The notion was shattered when the child stumbled out of his office, holding onto the wall, blinked over at him.

"Uncle Jack, your back." He narrowed his eyes. "Dad's unconscious though. What happened?" Jack sighed. Sat down on the floor.

"I don't know kid. You're gonna have to wait until your dad wakes up to tell you." Harry sighed.

"Fine. Is Rose okay?" Jack looked over at Rose. He shrugged.

"I have no idea. If you asked me to recount the last hour, I wouldn't be able to with any sort of accuracy."

Harry grinned. "He has that effect, doesn't he?"

"If you're talking about your father, than yes, he does. And more. Makes him a real pain in the ass." Harry laughed weakly, hanging onto the railing as he slowly toddled down the steps. Jack looked over him, concern in his eyes. Harry waved away the inevitable questions.

"I'll just sit down here, help you keep an eye on them. Head's spinning too much to cause any sort of trouble." Harry gingerly sat himself on the floor, back against the couch, and turned hazy green eyes to Jack. "The scanners…are still showing something strange."

Jack stood up, nodding. "I'll go take a look. Thanks Harry. And stay still. You should still be sleeping, from what I understood of your injuries. Which you will tell me about in depth later. Imp."

"Ass," Harry replied. Jack smiled.

"When your dad hears I've taught you American slang I'm sure I'll get the longest lecture in the history of the universe, but it will so be worth the look on his face." Harry giggled, then leant back, sighed. His eyes fluttered shut. "Sleep well Harry. I'll go make sure nothing else is happening." Harry waved a hand, then nodded off to sleep. Jack paused to look at the three of them.

Little Harry, seven and full of bright life, with a home like no other and father that showed him the universe. The Doctor, an impossibility and a savior, wrapped in a pinstriped suit and smiling broadly. Rose, jeopardy friendly Rose who defies all logic. Seeing them, all together, made Jack smile brightly. If the universe was kind enough to bring back Rose, then they could face the worst the Universe could throw at them together.

Harry woke up on the couch, underneath a blanket. Quite different from where he went to sleep at, on the floor. And his dad wasn't anywhere to be seen. Though, when he sat up (thanking the universe for the lack of spinning) Rose was still asleep on the couch next to him. And Jack was puttering away at a nearby computer. But his dad wasn't anywhere to be seen.

He threw the blankets off and stood up, heading easily over to Jack. His head wasn't throbbing, his inner ear wasn't trying to tell him he was walking on the ceiling, or attempting to. His magic felt low, but it was better than a splitting headache and falling over his feet. Jack looked up at his approach, smiled.

"Hey sunshine, lookin good. How're you feeling?"

"Better than when I woke up yesterday."

Jack laughed. "Yesterday? Try two days ago. Though your dad only woke up about six hours ago, so he was out for a while too. I tucked you up onto the couch after you passed out. Couldn't let you sleep on the floor." Harry frowned.

"He was out that long? Really? What did he do?" He looked over his shoulder at the still sleeping Rose. "And Rose is still sleeping."

Jack waved a hand. "Nah, she woke up sometime yesterday, ate something, then went back to sleep." Harry's stomach growled at the mention of food and the boy grinned sheepishly. Jack smiled. "And it sounds like you're hungry. Whatya want?"

"Whatever you have, as long as it's not that weird purple vegetable you people seem to like." Harry looked around. "And where is my dad?"

Jack laughed. "I shoved him into the archives to reassign the labels. He did a number on my computer databases, so I thought it was only fair. Besides, he's probably having a field day down there. I've got alien junk that's fallen to Earth since the late 1800's." Jack beckoned for Harry to follow him. "How does grilled cheese sound?"

Harry nodded. "Good, so long as you have that tomato soup stuff to go with it. And no ham, please. I hate ham." Jack snickered, but didn't say anything about Harry's taste in food as he cooked something up. Harry took a seat at the improvised table. "So what happened yeste….whenever it was that dad did that knocked him out?"

Jack shrugged. "Something about a disassociated time stream and time being crystalized. I was too worried about being pierced by shards of time (and isn't that weird, shards of time? A literal shard of time) to pay too much attention. Though Rose started acting strangely for a while. It was odd, really. Your dad will be able to explain it better. Give me an alien invasion any day over some complicated time event. The Time agency, all those rules to stop paradoxes and loops and shifts. Then the Doctor comes in, skews your entire perception of time, stabs it thoroughly with the horn of a Phenisian Whale and sends it skittering across ten lanes of traffic on Vegas 5."

Harry giggled. "Sounds like dad. Thanks," he said as Jack plopped the grilled cheese in front of him, slopped some red tomato soup into a bowl and slid it across the table. Harry devoured it quickly. Jack laughed.

"I sometimes forget your seven and still growing, then you start eating and I can't help but be reminded of an insane dinosaur tearing through it's meat." Harry glowered at the comment, and Jack grudgingly whipped up a few more sandwiches and watched in fascination as Harry downed them all.

When he had gone through three and a half, he settled back and sighed. "Alright, time to find dad."

Harry headed towards deep storage, in the general direction Jack had indicated, and set about looking for the elusive, skinny frame of his father.

The Tardis let them back in after another day sulking and repairing in the alley, and by then Rose had woken up. She was still groggy and her head pounded, but she wasn't sleeping the day away on the couch.

~~~~~~~This is an Ending~~~~~

All of you reviewers are so amazing! Thank you for your awesome words and encouragement! When I hit the end of semester with four essays and two final exams, it was awesome to see that you all were still reading this and reviewing and letting me know that I could write. Thanks so much! To all my reviewers who don't have reply activated, thank you all. I try and get back to everyone personally but when I can't, I still want to let you all know that I sincerely appreciate all the kind words!

The next adventure should be up soon! I'm on winter break so I should have more time to write and everything!

Happy Holidays to everyone, whatever holiday you celebrate and where ever you may be! Hopefully some of you have snow (I think where I live has forgotten it is actually December, which means WINTER in the Northern Hemisphere and is instead hovering about 70 degrees. Which Isn't bad, but it doesn't help the holiday feeling here any. Reminds me of Guam, where we went to the beach on Christmas once. 0.0)

Kuroi


	12. In Which Harry Get Into Trouble

Hi! Oh, an update earlier than normal! Yay!

There might be some questions for those who don't know the classic series well. I reccomend any episode with the 4th Doctor in it, the movie featuring the 8th Doctor, and watching at least the first episode ever of Doctor Who. It's on Youtube (mostly). Enjoy!

~~~~This is a Beginning~~~~

The Tardis let them back in after another day sulking and repairing in the alley, and by then Rose had woken up. She was still groggy and her head pounded, but she wasn't sleeping the day away on the couch. It was a sign for them to leave.

Jack would be sticking around in Cardiff for a bit longer, keeping an eye on the rift until he could train up a good enough team to take over for him, but he had a phone and Harry would answer the Tardis's so he wasn't stranded forever. Rose had one too, her old super phone from when she used to travel with the Doctor and he made sure she could still keep in contact with her mum. It had become slightly obsolete over the years as it didn't get signal in her world, but its sentimental value was too high for her to part with so she kept it in her keepsake cabinet. So Jack wasn't stuck on Earth for an indeterminable amount of time this go round.

But for Harry, his father and Rose, it was time to leave. The Doctor, for one, had taken apart and rebuilt enough of the electronics in the Torchwood hub to irritate Jack. Harry was also getting itchy, wanting to feel the Tardis again.

The interior of the Tardis wasn't that much different. Aside from a bit of a raise in the dias surrounding the controls and an extra couple of seats, the coral structures and low lighting had remained much the same. Harry was sure there were some changes down the corridors and in the rooms, but he was glad the control room had remained much the same.

Jack waved them off, giving Rose a long hug. "Be safe Rose. And keep those two from doing anything stupid."

"Of course."

Harry pounced on Jack as soon as Rose headed towards the Tardis doors, and Jack laughed, sweeping him up. "You be safe, imp. Don't let me hear that you've been doing things you shouldn't before I get back. Keep yourself in one piece, you hear?"

Harry nodded, sighing reluctantly. "Yes Uncle Jack. I'll be safe." Privately he thought it was rather impossible to be completely safe in the Tardis, not with his dad driving.

WIth a bit of reluctance, his uncle put him back down before he turned to the Doctor. "Keep them safe Doctor." He saluted and the Doctor smiled slightly, returning a little two finger salute, a sigh pulling at the corner of his mouth.

"See you Jack. We'll swing by to pick you up in a bit, yeah?" Jack nodded, then watched as the doors to the Tardis closed and, a few seconds later, the universal noise of the Tardis disappearing filled the air and the blue box faded from existence. Jack stayed there for a few more moments, then he headed back to Torchwood Headquarters. He had a team to assemble and a few promising candidates to go over.

~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~

The Doctor spun a few controls into position before he turned with a manic grin on his face, facing his son and the woman he thought would remain forever beyond his reach.

"Alright, who wants to go where? All of time, all of space, pick somewhere."

Rose laughed. Harry sighed. His dad was on a theatrical streak and it seemed to be heading towards epic and huge proportions ending in the eventual capture, grimy prison cell, evil plot and triumph of the righteous that his dad was known across time and space for. Harry wasn't sure he was up for a couple days in a prison cell. Not this time.

"I'm going to go work on my...my project. Have fun dad, Rose."

His dad looked at him, eyes wide. "Not up for an adventure Harry?"

Harry scoffed. "You're gonna end up landing on a planet that is, somehow, embroiled in civil unrest, end up in a jail cell, meet the mastermind of the evil plot and overthrow it. I just want to skip the cell part. I'll be in the lab." Harry spun on his heel, heading towards the corridor.

"There won't be any evil plots, promise." Harry looked at him over his shoulder, a smirk on his lips.

"Sure. I'll stay here for now. I have some things I want to do in the lab anyway. Have fun, take Rose somewhere."

The Doctor watched Harry stroll out of the control room. "Don't blow anything important up Harry! And keep your communicator on!"

"Yes dad!" was heard, drifting back as Harry travelled deeper and deeper into the depths of the Tardis.

Rose laughed. "He is your son. Willful and precocious. Does he do this often?"

"Do what?"

"Head off on his own?"

The Doctor sighed. "Sometimes. He likes to tinker with things. At least he knows which lines deal with the gravity and antigrav couplings so I don't have to try and reconnect them while suspended between the walls."

Rose laughed. "He is your son, Doctor. Eccentric, willful, and obsessed with tinkering."

"That's what I'm afraid of. Knowing him, he'll cause more problems than any civil unrest we come upon." The Doctor looked at the doorway that Harry and vanished down.

"I'm sure Harry will be fine. He's resourceful and he knows the Tardis. He'll be fine." But her words didn't quite erase the concern from the Doctor's face.

He knew Harry was resourceful, smart and willful. That was what worried him. He knew how trouble-prone he was as a child. He had most of his Family in an uproar and caused so many problems at school that he was shocked they didn't kick him out. Harry was so much like him as a child that it was a cause for concern. He hoped the Tardis would keep an eye on him.

"Alright Rose. Where to?" Rose smiled.

"Pick somewhere Doctor. I'm sure it'll be awesome." In truth, she was just glad to be back on the Tardis. To travel again, through time and space, it was something she never thought she'd get. She would revel in it.

"Alright! Adventure!" And the Doctor started spinning and turning controls. The control room began to rock and Rose laughed as she felt memories of being twenty and naive and traveling surface with a clarity she hadn't felt in many many years.

~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~

Harry felt the distant shake of the Tardis, not as pronounced back in the lab because it was protected from the tilting and shuddering by enough stabilizing fields to keep a planet from orbiting it's star. It was important though, the delicate nature of the work in the lab meant that the slightest shudder could send the universe into an implosion sequence if it was jostled enough. Not the best idea, really. He rather liked the universe the way it was, mostly.

His concentrated on his project. It was meant to be a multi-dimensional transporter, able to move through time and space over short distances. Not as impressive as his Uncle's time agent wrist strap thing but he couldn't recreate that because his dad forbade uncle Jack from letting him see it at all. He had to deal with fumbling around and trying his best. But that was fine. He knew enough about Time and Space that he could create a short distance hop. A couple years, one way or the other, was the max limit. At least, that was what he figured would be the limit.

He checked his equations again, pulling out the holopad he snitched from a mall on Sirius Prime during his birthday last year. (The Doctor had sighed and paid for it as they left the store, glaring at Jack as he did so. Jack grinned unrepentantly.) The intricate mathematical equations sprang up, a three dimensional rendering of the project he was working in. He looked over the base functions, the quantum models, the temporal schemas. Something had been bugging him about one of the temporal calculations. There was something just a bit off and he wasn't sure what it was. He knew it would severely affect something with the prototype, he just wasn't sure what it was.

He peered at the figures, dismissing some of the outer functions that were working properly to get at the problem. Finally he was left with a sprawling matrix and a series of gallifreyian numerals encircling it. There was something there...he fiddled with a few of the numbers that were obviously off, and tweaked another equation into a more efficient model.

Then he stared at it. For about and hour. Alright, nothing for it. He would have to feed it into the prototype to see the actual problem. He wouldn't use it, wouldn't touch it, but he could examine the software and hardware in action.

He plugged the tablet's external jack into the prototype's memory bank and started the compiling process.

And waited.

And waited.

And started spinning in a nearby chair. This is what he got for using the code from Yafrix v. While it allowed for the most freedom of expression it took forever for anything to happen. If he didn't have the Tardis's capacity for processing power to access he would be sitting here until his next birthday. As it was, he was going to have to wait for another few hours at least.

He didn't get that long. Instead, a bright glow started to fill the room, covering everything with an effervescent filter and Harry, staring in astonishment, promptly vanished from the room. The glow stayed.

~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~

Harry blinked, trying to clear his vision. Something had clearly gone wrong with the prototype but, unless he could see it, get to it, he wasn't going to figure out what exactly happened. As suddenly as the light appeared, it vanished, clearing Harry's vision and leaving behind little black spots of overexposure as a present. Harry reaches for something solid to stabilize himself while he tries to clear his vision.

He was touching the Tardis walls, he realized. He could feel the warm, golden energy swirling underneath his palm and wondered just how far he had staggered in the bright light. Obviously far enough to reach a wall.

Then he heard an echoing giggle. The Tardis was amused. This never ended well for him. He asked her what was going on, exactly, if she knew what had happened with the experiment. He didn't get anything useful back, just some giggles and sounds of amusement.

"Bloody helpful 12-dimensional being you are," he muttered at the wall. "Can't even help me out of a scrape with my maths, can you?" A ringing sound of righteous indignation, obviously a front as Harry heard what sounded like laughter floating through his mind, flared then faded and Harry was alerted to another presence heading towards him. He straightened up. Obviously not his dad, the Tardis would have told him that, but he couldn't get her to tell him who it was. He frowned, but nothing.

He would have to do thi the normal way. The figure rounded a corner, clearly heading somewhere, then stopped, shocked, as she saw him. Harry took her appearance in.

Slim, short, with pants that, if he wasn't mistaken, were of Earth origin somewhere in the late 1900's. Her hair was abnormally huge for a humanoid, especially an Earth human and she was young, judging by the young features. DId his dad pick up someone new? Had he been out for that long? And why was he in a different part of the Tardis? He hoped this girl would have some answers.

"Who are you? And what are you doing on the Tardis? Does the Doctor know you're here?" Harry blinked. Everyone on the Tardis knew who he was.

"I'm Harry." He wondered how to answer the next question, decided on the safest option. "Can you take me to see da...the Doctor?" If she didn't know who he was, 'dad' was likely not going to get him anywhere.

"Harry? Is that your name?"

"Of course. What's yours? You're from Earth, judging by the Earth-English, a regional dialect of England, your pants, sometime from the late 1900's, and your humanoid appearance."

Harry didn't think he had seen someone so astonished. "How...who are you? How do you know that?"

"It's obvious. Accented speech consistent with English of the 1900's, late 1900's, if I have to judge, pants that are either from 8900's Earth colony Halifrex VII8 on Pluto or, as would be more consistent with your accent, 1900's Earth."

The woman stared at her, slightly taken aback. "You sound like the Doctor. Well, you're on the Tardis, I better take you to him anyway. He'd want to know you're here. I'm Sarah Jane Smith. Are you from Earth? You look human."

Harry paused to consider this question. It wasn't exactly an incorrect assumption. He was human, or he was born on Earth and therefore fell under that category by virtue of planet of origin if origin was taken to mean birth planet. But he wasn't really from Earth. "I was born on Earth," he conceded. Sarah Jane Smith looked at him consideringly.

"What does that mean?"

"It's...complicated. Let's go see the Doctor, okay?" Harry headed towards the control room. It was the only hint he got from the Tardis as to where his dad was.

Sarah Jane was confused. She had wandered back towards her room in the Tardis, intent on finding her camera and swimsuit. The Doctor was taking her to the Crystal Falls of Jryia, a planet whose beauty was renowned as the most spectacular in the universe for it's time. Then she had stumbled onto a child. A child, dressed in some of the oddest clothes she had ever seen, and that was saying a lot considering the Doctor's penchant for scarves that were twice as long as he was tall. His shirt was some shimmering silver contraption that wound around his torso, without a beginning or an end. His pants, a dark green and wrapped around his waist and tied at his front, were wide and airy and had pockets. He wore shoes that seemed to allow him to hover several centimeters off the ground. He was human, so she gathered from the strange statement "I was born on Earth." His eyes were a bright, unnatural green and he wore a golden chain around his neck.

And on top of that he was absolutely tiny. He was just over three feet tall even though his vocabulary was much much older than his features. He sounded like the Doctor, rattling off a list of observations and facts that were both strangely accurate and oddly alien. She was used to it from the wildly intelligent alien she traveled with, but from a child who looked human was weird and disconcerting.

She hurried to catch up with him. How did he know where he was going? She had never seen him before, how could he possibly know where the Doctor was?

"The Doctor's in the control room, yes?" he asked. Sarah Jane nodded, then spoke up, realizing he couldn't see her.

"Yes, though, how do you know where the control room is? I've never seen you before, how could you know where anything is?"

Harry sighed deeply but didn't answer. Everything was all strange anyway.

They walked in silence for a while longer until they reached the control room. Sarah Jane could see the Doctor underneath the panels, fiddling with something and muttering to himself.

"What is it? What went wrong? We haven't even left the vortex so how could there be temporal leakage?" Then she noticed that Harry had frozen, staring at the Doctor and shaking his head as if to clear away some unpleasant image.

"Doctor? Doctor?" Sarah Jane tried to get his attention.

"What is it? There's something wrong with the Tardis. Some kind of temporal disturbance and I can't figure out why. Must be a disconnected coupling somewhere..."

"Doctor, there was something strange...Doctor!"

"Doctor," Harry spoke up. The Doctor banged his head against the console trying to get out from under it.

Harry stared at the man that was, somehow, his father. Well, would eventually be his father, he supposed. Or was his father at some point. Though judging by the Tardis's amusement, this Doctor was younger than his father was. He wore a colorful shirt, trousers that might not have been out of place from where ever Sarah Jane got her pants and wild, wild curly brown hair.

The Doctor looked at Harry. A small child, messy, longish black hair, bright green eyes, some strange, unusual gold necklace, clothes and shoes he had never encountered before. Also, some strange knowledge in those young eyes. He was human, the Doctor would put his sonic screwdriver on it, but that wasn't all.

"Who are you? And why are you on the Tardis? How did you get on the Tardis? We're in the Time Vortex, it should be impossible..."

Harry laughed. "I was messing with an experiment. I think it must have gone much more wrong than I originally assumed. It's probably why the Tardis is a bit tetchy. I messed with the Temporal Stability Generators when I breached the time vortex to end up here. Obviously didn't touch the spatial plane, judging by where I ended up. I knew I had messed up something with the Temporal Calculations. I just didn't anticipate this." Harry looked around him.

The control room was geometrical, having taken a fondness for lines and cleanliness and spheres. It wasn't the natural, coral-esque configuration he was used to, but a rather more mathematical type of structure. He could hear the Tardis's amusement at his predicament.

"You knew this would happen, didn't you?" he said, putting his hands on his hips and glaring at the console. He felt the Tardis brush his mind soothingly, a laughing confirmation. Harry frowned. "Sly thing you are. You could have just told me what was wrong with the project. Now dad's probably freaking out and I'm going to be in so much trouble and I just said all of that aloud, didn't I?"

The Doctor (not his dad, though it was his dad, just, not yet) and Sarah Jane Smith were staring at him.

"Who were you just talking to?" the Doctor asked. Harry shifted on his feet, uneasy and not appearing too willing to answer questions. The Doctor didn't look pleased at all. "You appear in my Tardis, talking of a Temporal mishap that might have torn apart the vortex and speaking to invisible entities. I would like some answers. Your name, for one."

Harry sighed. "My name is Harry. I was talking to the Tardis and I am from your personal future Doctor. Unfortunately that's all I can say. Which face is this? I've seen it before but I can't quite remember which one."

Sarah Jane listened to this with confusion and shock. Someone from the Doctor's future? How could that be possible?

The Doctor was thinking along the same lines. "My future? How? This isn't something that just happens. You don't just mess with temporal anomalies for fun."

Harry shifted again, clasping his hands at his back. "I, well, you see, I was working on a, a, well, a kind of vortex manipulator. I mean, da...I wasn't allowed to see uncle's and so I wanted to make my own. I just...I think I miscalculated something within the temporal framework so when I fed it into the hardware I was using for the prototype it fritzed and sent me here." Harry scuffed a foot. Even if it wasn't his dad's face looking at him, it didn't make it feel any less like his dad.

"You did what? How in Rassilon's name did you manage that? You're, what, five? Six human years old?"

"I'm seven, I think. And I've been messing with temporal physics since I was old enough to understand quantum calculations."

The Doctor didn't quite know what to make of this. "What were you doing on the Tardis then? How did you get onto it?"

"I live here. I'm sure I could find my room if I looked hard enough, she likes me well enough. I didn't move anywhere spatially, just temporally. Which might have been the problem in the first place."

"And a future me lets you do this?"

At this, Harry scuffed his foot and looked at the floor. "Well, you see...you don't...exactly know about my project. It's been a bit of a secret."

Sarah Jane laughed behind him. "You managed to keep a secret from him inside the Tardis?"

"Well, it isn't that hard. You just have to know how to talk to her. She's rather amenable, though she could have just told me what was wrong with the equation, she was compiling it." Harry glanced at the console with a scowl. It flashed brightly and the Doctor and Sarah Jane jumped. The Doctor turned shocked blue eyes to the small boy that had, somehow, invaded his Tardis.

"What in the universe are you? Not just anyone can speak to the Tardis! I can't! Almost no Time Lord has ever been able to communicate with a Tardis directly. And you say you live in the Tardis. Who are your parents? And how did I ever allow it?"

Harry was silent for several moments, before he sighed. "I can't tell you that. There's this rule, see, about timelines and preserving the temporal fidelity and all that. We're inside a 12 dimensional being of immense power but knowledge is knowledge."

The Doctor frowned at Harry and looked at Sarah Jane. "What do you make of all this, Sarah?"

"I think it's all a lot of nonsense. Time talk and temporal whatever. I'm still trying to figure out how a seven year old even knows about any of that!"

Harry sighed. This wasn't getting him anywhere. He was on a Tardis, in the wrong time, with a Doctor who didn't know him and a companion who wanted to constantly point out his age. And he had no idea how to get back to the proper time. The Tardis wasn't being helpful either, laughing at him as he sighed.

The wild haired, blue eyed Doctor stared at him, still not sure what to make of everything that had happened.

"So, let me get this straight. You are a...companion? from my personal future, having messed with the temporal lines so thoroughly that you ended up in a past version of the Tardis and you don't know how to realign the temporal strings so, until you manage to correct the error, you are stuck here." Harry nodded. "Alright then. So, how about a jelly baby while we figure this out then."

Harry looked at the wrinkled brown bag curiously, then his eyes widened. "You're the fourth Doctor! Sarah Jane told me about your fondness for Jelly Babies. Granted, we didn't get to stay long with her, something about aliens and such, but she mentioned it." Harry turned round to look at the younger Sarah Jane he hadn't recognized before. "So you're Sarah Jane then. My d...Doctor told me about you. Brilliant woman, he would say. Determined and stubborn but always managed to figure it out in the end." He smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you Sarah Jane Smith." Harry smiled at the young woman. The Sarah Jane he remembered wasn't flustered easily and rarely stood around looking confused.

"Um...alright then."

"Though, I wonder why you didn't know who I was when I met you...you obviously met me before so you should have know who I was. You wondered why I was in such a dangerous situation, seeing as I was a kid. Not that it matters much, I caused it. Dad should remember too..." Harry trailed off, realizing he'd said far too much.

"So your dad's on the Tardis too. Have I really gone domestic in my old age? How do I get away with it without the Council interfering?"

Harry scuffed his shoe again. He should really learn to keep his mouth shut. "I...er, I can't really tell you. I mean, it's your future. I can't just go about telling people their futures you know. D...the Doctor would probably lock me in my room for a week and take away my screwdriver and comp-com and everything."

~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~

The Doctor and Rose rushed back into the Tardis, laughing breathlessly. Despite the running, they hadn't been chased or run off a planet. The planet they were on was rather well deserted, mostly jungle and beautiful waterfalls and jeweled rivers and streams. No, they had been running for the memories. Rose had insisted and the Doctor wasn't about to let a good run get away.

"I forgot how much I missed that. Don't really do a lot of running really. Well, not much with anyone to hold hands with."

The Doctor grinned. "Run!" he said, then chased Rose up the gangway and around the console, laughing and shouting.

Well, until the Doctor realized something was wrong. The Tardis was glowing a bright, unmistakable shade of gold, far brighter than she should. The Doctor looked at the console, concerned.

"What's that for? What's with the glowing?" The Doctor pushed a few buttons on the main console. "What's wrong? There's no temporal disturbances here. In fact, this whole planet is so temporally stable you shouldn't even be flickering." He pulled the screen towards him and Rose leaned over his shoulder.

"Could it be a blip in the vortex?" Rose asked.

"Nah, something like that would be more catastrophic and less...glowy. No, something's messing with the actual temporal strings of the Tardis. Which could only happen if something had gotten into the Tardis and messed with the Temporal Stabilizers, and the only ones who know how to are Me and...Harry." The Doctor stopped, looking through the door leading to the back corridors. "What has he gotten up to? I told him not to mess with the stabilizers. He is supposed to tell me if he is doing anything that might jeopardize anything important, or compromise anything." The Doctor took off for the back rooms and Rose followed, concern etched on her face. If anything happened to Harry...well, she didn't know what would happen to the Doctor, but she could bet it wouldn't be good.

The Doctor raced down the hallways, taking turns at seeming random points, worry on his face. Rose followed him, keeping pace and worrying for him. Little Harry was far too intelligent and could get into infinite amounts of trouble with the resources he had available in the Tardis.

Trouble he seemed to have found, if the bright white light emanating from the room up ahead was any indication. The Doctor skidded to a halt, eyes wide.

"I told him not to go messing with temporal technology! He doesn't have enough experience with the mathematics! What did he do?" The Doctor headed into the room and Rose, swallowing hard, followed him in.

The room was empty save for a strange device that looked somewhat akin to a hypercube and what Rose might call a Universal Technology Drive, what eventually replaced the USB, plugged into the side. The Doctor cursed.

"What? What is it?" Rose asked worredly. "And where is Harry?"

"When is the better answer, if I have to judge by what he was messing with. I told him not to mess with this stuff! I told him! He doesn't have enough knowledge of temporal calculations!"

"What is it though?"

The Doctor turned to look at Rose. "It's...you know Jack's Vortex Manipulator?" Rose nodded. "Well, a while back I told Harry he couldn't play with it. I mean, there's enough technology in there that he could possibly poke a hole in the vortex if he wasn't careful, those things are rather delicate and dangerous and far from perfect in their usage. But apparently he decided that he really wanted to mess around with the concept of space/time manipulation. And it looks like he screwed up a very basic equation. Which is why I told him to leave that stuff alone!" He seemed to be yelling at a Harry who wasn't there to hear him.

That didn't make Rose feel any better. Time manipulation was a difficult process on its own, she had watched the Doctor screw it up often enough. Knowing that a seven year old boy was playing with the same concepts...

"Is he alright?" she asked, worried. "Where...when is he?"

"Oh, he's in the Tardis, he hadn't quite finished the spatial calculations to be elsewhere, and the Tardis keeps an eye on him. So he's in the Tardis. The question is when is he. And I don't know. The equation is so unrefined that it's impossible to pinpoint. And I'm going to have to untangle it to get him back in the correct timeline. This is gonna be a process." The Doctor looked at Rose. "Would you mind grabbing some tea from the kitchen? I have to start untangling my wayward son's experiments."

Rose nodded. The Doctor was in a mood and she didn't envy Harry at all whenever he got back. He had the music to face and she definitely didn't want to be in his shoes. Having the Doctor for a father was probably both exciting and terrifying, especially when one screwed around with things they shouldn't be touching.

~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~

Harry, stuck in the past with the fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane, and a laughingly unhelpful Tardis, was sighing. The Doctor, so much like his father but not at the same time, had dragged him around until they reached to central control.

"So, you've gone and messed with Temporal Stability and yet no one from the CIA has come to get you, or me. So, let's see what you've done to my Tardis exactly. And how we can fix it."

Harry looked at him. "I can't fix it from this end. The equations and the manipulator are back in my Tardis. And unless the Tardis wants to be helpful and reveal a room that, to you, doesn't exist yet, we're going to have to rely on the Doctor from my time to work out the problem." Harry looked at the wall. "Provided he doesn't spend half the time ranting at the wall about how irresponsible I am for messing with things I shouldn't be messing with."

"So you can't do anything from this end? Do you know how long you'll be here or anything?"

"Nope. No idea. Though..." Harry pulled out a piece of his paper and a writing utensil and started scribbling down equations. The Doctor looked over his shoulder, eyes wide.

"Is that Gallifreyan? How do you...how could you possibly know...?"

"Perks of being raised in the Tardis, you get to know the native language. Now shush, I'm trying to concentrate." Harry drew out a few more equations before he turned the paper over and scribbled a few lines in some language it took the Doctor a moment to recognize.

"How could you possibly know that language?" he said incredulously. Harry waved him off.

"Alright, here's the equation that I think I messed up. With some of the base equations outside it, but this is the main one. So, oh brilliant Time Lord, what did I do wrong?"

The Doctor, with wide eyes, took the sheet of paper from Harry and glanced at it. Then he narrowed them thoughtfully.

"I see why you screwed up. Have you taken a look at the Temporal Localities as Described by the 12th dimension and how they effect the relocation of the matter? No, I thought not. You failed to take in the actual temporal locality of the space you inhabited. If you came from the Tardis, which I assume because that's the only way you could have ended up inside the Tardis, Then you forgot to factor in the Tardis itself. The fact that it exists in twelve dimensions, in all possible times, well, then it becomes a matter of factoring that out. You might want to listen to me when I tell you not to mess with temporal anomalies."

Harry sighed and looked at the floor. "Of course that's what I did. Now I just have to hope that the Doctor can fix it before I'm stuck here forever. If the Tardis would just cooperate this wouldn't be so hard, would it." He said this last bit just a bit louder and glared at the walls. The laughing echo filtered through Harry's mind and he groaned. Of course the Tardis wouldn't be any more help. He had screwed up. It would be his mistake to figure out.

"I still don't believe you speak with the Tardis. It isn't something that can be done, no matter what you are. I can't speak with the Tardis."

Harry looked at him. "it isn't so much speaking as exchanging feelings and pictures. My words translate because of our unique bond, but otherwise she speaks to me with an impression rather than words or cohesive sentences."

"Unique bond?"

"Can't tell you that. Timelines to preserve and all tha..." Harry started to fade out, a white light encompassing his body. He looked at the fourth Doctor. "I guess dad figured it out. Bye, Doctor. It was nice to see your earlier face." Harry waved and then, with a bright white effusion of light, he vanished.

The fourth Doctor looked startled for a moment. Dad? Then, with the disappearance of the white light, his memory of the event vanished. He blinked, looking around. What was he doing in the control room?

~~~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~~

Harry felt like he was falling. He wasn't sure where he was falling to or what he was falling from, but he fell. A golden waterfall of energy surrounded him and he sighed as he wondered what was gonna happen when he ended up back where he was supposed to be. He was sure his father wouldn't be pleased. He could see it now. Small, black haired boy found suspended in time, punishment for messing with temporal calculations he couldn't fully understand. He might be left there for years. He moaned. His dad was going to be so upset.

He braced himself for the inevitable as he felt the light leave him. Any minute now he would see his dad's face looming over him.

Except, he didn't. Instead there was a young, boyish face with strangely old green eyes and a bow tie filling his vision. Harry blinked. Then he groaned.

"I'm in the wrong time, aren't I?"

"Indeed you are Harry. Just a bit overshot of your time, I should think. missed the mark, I did. Sent you too far forward. Well, I suspect I'll get it right at some point but for now, here you are. Here you are! Isn't that amazing!"

Harry looked up at the face of this Doctor. "So I take it you're a later incarnation of dad then?" he asked.

"Yep. Next one, actually. Eleven. Quite a bit of a mess, you created for yourself. End up bouncing through time. Forward and back and all around. Messing with time isn't the safest thing."

"You ended up with twice the energy didn't you. And you look like a teenager dad. I bet you'll end up a child by the time you reach 13. By the looks of you, you just age downward with each regeneration. And what's up with the bowtie?"

"Bowties are cool."

"What does Rose have to say to that?"

"Rose likes them just fine!" the Doctor protested. Harry sighed.

"And I guess I can't ask too many questions can I?"

"Nope, sorry. Timelines to preserve and all. I suspect you won't be here much longer either, seeing as I was quick to fix all the little errors I made when retreiving you. Though for some reason I can't quite remember how this whole thing ended."

"I bet it'll end with me being grounded for half of forever for messing with temporal anomalies and such."

"Oh, I bet you can count on it."

Harry got to his feet and looked around. "This is a rather nice look for her, you know. Clean lines but a bit of insanity. Matches you quite well Dad." The stairs were elegant and glass, a beautiful combination of usefulness and oddity. The glass theme was repeated everywhere. The floor around the console, the flooring in general.

It was a very very different Tardis that the one he knew. At least on the outside. The Tardis's essence still floated around him, caressing his mind and laughing at him. But still, with regeneration, the Tardis changed with it's driver, the Doctor shifting faces as staggeringly shocking as the Tardis did. A facelift of epic proportions. He wasn't sure he would enjoy that, if it happened while he was still alive.

Harry looked at his dad closely. Really looked. He looked so old, yet his face was so young. His dad, reborn into this strange, pseudo-similar shape that he knew so well, yet it was wholly different. He could see the excitement in his eyes, and he also saw a strange sort of longing. Harry held his hands out, a kind of unspoken request that he knew his dad would understand.

A smile filled the Doctor's face and Harry was picked up and hugged tightly. It was the kind of hug that Harry loved, tight and warm and full of love. Maybe a little too tight, a little too desperate, but Harry was sure that, by now, if he was still around he was an old man and this Doctor had never held the little boy that he had raised.

"Hey dad," he whispered in the Doctor's ear. He heard the sniffle.

"Hey Harry. No matter how angry I get at you for this stunt you pulled, remember that I am so glad you did so. I am so glad I got to see you again." He tightened his grip on the little boy.

The Doctor held on tight to the small form that was his son. His son out of time, out of his proper timeline, but his son all the same. It was someone he never thought he would see as a child, not with this face. He held on all the tighter. It was a privilege to hold onto the young, brilliant child Harry was.

"Doctor? Who...who's that?" Harry raised his eyes. A red haired girl with a Scottish accent (his dad, with the face he knew, was really good at scottish) descended the stairs. "Rose said something was up but...what is a child doing on the Tardis?"

Harry turned to look at the girl, then at his father. He smiled. "Hi, I'm Harry. Pleased to meet you..."

"Harry? The Harry? The Doctor's son Harry? But I thought...aren't you...why are you a child? Did something happen? I don't understand..." the girl looked at a loss. "Doctor, what's going on. I thought Harry was..."

"This is my son from the past. Well, my past, my personal past. He had the misfortune to misplace a few numbers in a calculation he was doing and feed it into a temporal manipulator and he is currently in a Time Shift between various parts of the Tardis's history and future. Constantly shifting back and forth and back and forth, well, until I can do something about it. So, Harry, meet Amelia Pond, current companion and fiance to Rory Williams."

Harry smiled at Amelia. "Hello Amelia. How are you?"

"Um, er, well, hi Harry. It's a pleasure to meet you. Just, just Amy, please."

"But Amelia is an awesome name! Theres a planet in the Nebula V7 galaxy named Amelia and all of its people are called Amelialites. It's fascinating."

Amy looked startled. "Really? A whole planet named Amelia?"

"Well, in translation it's Amelia. They speak in a series of squeaks and whistles so when it's back in Standard it's Amelia. Fascinating place, really. They have some wonderful music there."

Amy laughed. "You are your father's son, that much is true. I wondered, but here you are, a child and you still sound like him."

"Hazards of living on the Tardis, I'm afraid. Eventually we all sound like dad. It just sorta happens."

"No, just you. Rose doesn't talk like that and she's ancient. Supposedly. Well, er, um, she's, she doesn't look old, but she says she's really..." Amy trailed off when the Doctor looked at her, eyes piercing and shushing her.

"Amy dear! There you are! I was looking for you!" a voice called out, ringing through the Tardis as a woman with springy, curly hair entered through the far door. Harry blinked up at her, emerald eyes curious, and the woman made a gasping sound. "Harry? Harry, is that...is that you?"

Harry looked at the Doctor, who hoisted Harry onto the other hip and looked at the woman with stern eyes. "River, this is Harry, from the past. He's gotten himself mixed up in a bit of a time shift. He'll be here for a bit, at least until I can fix his math error in the proper time he belongs to."

River's eyes sparkled with tears. "Oh, oh, I see. Um, well, Hello Harry. I'm River. It's nice to meet you."

"Hi River. I would ask you more since you seem to know me rather well but I'm afraid my dad might get all fussy about that and he's not pleasant when he's fussy. Tends to throw tantrums and such." Harry smiled, a mischievous edge to it. "But it is so much fun to do that. He gets all worked up and such and starts going on these long rants. I find it rather amusing."

Amy giggled and River smiled, covering her mouth, but Harry could still see a kind of strange sadness in her eyes, a sadness he didn't expect from someone he had yet to meet. He tugged on his dad's bowtie and whispered in his ear, "Why is River so sad? Did something happen?"

"Oh Harry, you know I can't tell you that. I have to preserve the timelines and everything. If something happens differently...I couldn't stand that. No, no. It'll be alright. River's just glad to see you. Everything's fine, alright?" The Doctor told him, stern, but Harry wasn't fooled. It wasn't too hard to figure out when his dad was telling him things because he had to. Harry had gotten good at seeing the sadness hiding under the mask of good cheer.

But that didn't mean he could do anything about it. He sighed and resigned himself to being left in the dark for a while. "Fine. Whatever. I suppose." Harry rested his head on his father's shoulder for a moment, before he looked up. "Where's Rose?"

The Doctor smiled. "She's taking care of something. Besides, she says you never met her when you came here, so she's keeping out of sight. Can't mess with the timelines, can we? Alright Harry, I guess it's almost time for you to go, huh?"

Harry looked around himself. Within the Doctor's arms, he was starting to glow a bright white. The sign that he was shifting again. Falling through the timelines and into the past. Or the future. Or wherever he would end up next. he didn't know.

He hugged on tight to his father, hoping the next time he saw his dad it would be the one he knew and not one of his father's previous incarnations. He wasn't fond of the one time he met a Doctor who wasn't his father. "Bye dad, I love you," he said. "Tell Rose bye too. Bye Amy, River. I suspect I'll see you again sometime."

River smiled at him through the sadness on her face and Amy nodded solemnly. "Yes Harry, I suspect we will." And Harry vanished in a swirl of white light, leaving the Doctor, Amy and River standing alone in the console room. Little Harry had vanished and the Doctor dropped the happy face.

"It'll be alright Doctor. We'll figure something out, yeah?" Amy laid a hand on the Doctor's shoulder and the Doctor looked up at her, face drawn and full of pain.

"Yeah, yeah we'll figure something out.

~~~~~~~This is a Line Break~~~~~~~

The Doctor, in his 10th incarnation and with Rose beside him, fought with the machine his son had built. "Dammit Harry, when I tell you not to mess with something, I mean it! There is a reason you aren't supposed to mess with the temporal flux! You don't know enough!" He fiddled with something. "I hope this is the right one," he muttered.

Rose looked at the Doctor with concern. He was concentrating on getting Harry back so hard she didn't know if he could stand it if he never made it. What would happen if his misstep cost him dearly? She couldn't fathom how that would effect the Doctor.

~~~~~~~This is a line Break~~~~~~~

Harry was falling again. It was a golden tunnel of some sort, a pool of golden energy. He frowned. How was he getting out of this? He knew his dad would have to pull him back, he couldn't get a hold of the proper tools himself seeing as they were all with his dad in his proper timeline. But would he end up there this time? Would it work? He didn't know, but it couldn't hurt to hope.

When he landed, he looked around, hoping to see something, anything, familiar. And, no, he was definitely not back where he belonged. The Tardis was strange. White. Very white. And geometric, while regular spherical holes in the walls in a repeating pattern. Definitely not the Tardis he knew. He wondered how far back (or forward, though with the decor he sort of doubted forward) he had gone.

A couple chairs sat in one corner and the door (not the wooden doors of the exterior shell he knew but rather a set of white doors, matching the interior). The console was geometrical in design and blinking brightly, the central column was narrow, the room simple in concept. He must have gone quite a ways back.

Oh, and there were people. Staring at him. He sighed. Of course he had to come in in the middle of an altercation, since that was what this was, obviously. An older man, dressed in a suit and tie, stood beside one of the chairs. A young girl stood at the console, a woman and a man, both teachers of some sort if Harry guessed right. Wonderful, just wonderful. He waved a little. "Hi."

"Who are you, and what are you doing inside the Tardis? What is it with people entering the Tardis without permission?" the older man spoke. Harry smiled slightly. This was the Doctor, he would bet.

"Hello Doctor. I'm sorry to drop in on you like this, I wouldn't have chosen it, really I wouldn't have, but as of late I've been sort of...stuck in a Time Shift." Harry fidgeted. "Have to end up this far back, don't I? You could have just told me what was wrong with the equation, but no, you had to let me screw it up. He's going to be so angry with me when I get back. And you're just laughing at me, aren't you?" The Tardis was definitely laughing at him. He could feel it, the tinkling bell of the laughter from the eleven dimensional being filtering through his mind. And he wasn't getting any help from her.

"You're in a what?" The male professor said incredulously. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"A Time Shift. A...I guess you could say I'm being bounced from one point of time in the Tardis's timeline to another. I'm not going anywhere spatially but temporally I might as well be a ping pong ball, reliant on my Doctor fixing my mistakes." Harry gestured around him as he spoke. "I'm staying within the parameters of the Tardis, actually I'm re-appearing directly where I left from the previous shift. But I haven't made it back to my time yet."

"You sound as crazy as them. Don't tell me you believe all this nonsense about space and time travel! This is 1963! It just isn't possible," the man exclaimed. Harry blinked rapidly.

"Wait...you...aren't companions? What...what are you doing in the Tardis then? How did you get in the Tardis?"

The young girl spoke up, "They followed me. Though I must know, who are you? How do you know so much? I haven't even learned how to manipulate temporal/spatial locality and you're younger than me!"

Harry smiled wryly. "Technically I wasn't supposed to be practicing them. But I didn't tell my Doctor that I was and, well, ended up...messing it up a bit. I'm Harry, currently occupying the Tardis, technically born on Earth but I never lived there long. Nice to meet you." He held out his hand to the girl. SHe took it, smiling.

"I'm Susan, the Doctor's granddaughter, born on Gallifrey at the end of the Age of Chaos as the reign of the Pythias ended. Nice to meet you too. You'll have to tell me what equations you were using! He never lets me study any-"

"Enough! I cannot let this absurdity continue any longer! Susan, you must stop this childish game, it isn't healthy!" the female professor said, hands in the air. Harry blinked in astonishment at her, then looked at Susan, who shrugged.

The Doctor, who had been watching with confusion and curiosity, came over to stand next to Harry and Susan. "My boy, if what you say is true, then you are rather far from your proper time. I have never heard of such a remarkable mistake, but I imagine that I have had quite a lot of trouble with you."

Harry grinned. "You have no idea." He turned to look at the two other adults in the room. "Who are they, and why are they here?"

"Grandfather isn't letting them leave. They shouldn't have come in in the first place and they refuse to believe us about the Tardis. They were my teachers at school but the followed me here." Susan glowered at her teachers.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Really? And you're trapping them inside? Why? It's not like anyone would actually believe them if they left and you can just leave after you let them go."

"The council would be furious. We've already been exiled from Gallifrey, we do not need another reason for the Celestial Intervention Agency to interfere with us," Susan said. Harry's eyes widened.

"Exiled? Then you...you're the First! The very First Doctor! Oh, wow, I mean, I knew I went back, but all the way to the beginning...man, dad must be having a tough time with the problem..." Harry murmured.

"Dad? Is your father aboard the Tardis as well? Please don't tell me I've become an interstellar nursery."

Harry smiled. "Nope, just me. And I'm bad enough."

"I imagine so my boy. I imagine so."

"Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, I know those names! Oh wow, I really went all the way back, didn't I." Harry looked at the two stunned humans by the door. "Hello, it is an honor meeting you two."

They just stared at him.

Harry would have said more, but he felt the energy around him gather and he hoped he would end up back where he belonged this time. It was getting shorter and shorter, his stay in each time. He couldn't hear what anyone around him was saying anymore, though they were clearly astonished at the chain of events. He could hear the Tardis again, whispering soothingly in his ear. He wasn't sure what that meant, but he hoped it meant he would be getting back soon.

~~~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~

The Doctor was, Rose saw, now standing directly in the center of the light, fumbling with controls and cursing softly, eyes feverish. He was frantic, she could tell, though he was very very careful to keep it under control and make every move with precision. She heard his mutterings, mostly aimed at his wayward son and his ill-choice in hobbies.

"Really Harry, you couldn't have chosen anything less dangerous? There's black hole technology here, quantum experiments, wave travel, but no, you had to go for temporal/spatial transportation. When you get back, you are going to be cleaning out the storage halls until your next birthday." Rose was starting to feel a bit bad for the tot that she had met for barely more than half a day. He was in for a lot of work when he got back.

~~~~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~

The white light left him, and Harry was sprawled on the floor of the Tardis. These trips were becoming painful, he realized. Painful and mentally unbalancing. He hadn't noticed it before, but the shift was making his head spin and his mind was going crazy. He knew if his magic hadn't been restrained by his necklace it too would have exploded around him. As it was, he could feel his skin sparking as it tried to escape. He hoped this was the right time.

He felt his hope soar when he looked around at the Tardis console he ended up it. It was the strange, coral shape he was used to, with the soft lighting and the dim blue colors. But it was, somehow, not the right one. He knew almost right away, as soon as the hope ebbed. There was too much pain for his Tardis, too much raw pain and despair and he could only guess this was the 9th Doctor, the one who survived the Time War, and he shuddered. His father rarely spoke of that time. It wasn't a pleasant memory for him, clearly, but Harry wasn't sure he was ready to confront a Doctor fresh from pain that, occasionally, overwhelmed his own father.

He didn't have much of a choice though, it seemed, since the ninth Doctor came striding into the console room only to stop short at seeing Harry on the floor in the corner.

"Who are you? Why are you on my Tardis?"

Harry sighed. He really wanted his father back, really wanted him back. He would take the yelling and the grounding over this confusion of identity and lack of knowledge.

"My name is Harry. Unfortunately you don't know me yet. I'm from your future. Yes, yes, you have a future, stop looking so grim. I'm in it, I should know."

"How am I to believe that? You're just a kid!"

"I was messing with temporal calculations and I screwed up a few. Whoops. So now I'm stuck in a time shift of sorts. I guess my Doctor will sort it out soon enough. I hope. Otherwise I'm going to be shifting from time to time for a while." Harry scratched his head, looking at the Doctor. "Which I am not enjoying nearly as much as I should. It's rather irritating, to be honest. Meeting different yous who don't know me is frustrating and I really just want to go back to my proper time. It's also starting upset the chemical balance in my brain and my internal core is being thrown off."

The Doctor spluttered at the boy standing in front of him. "Impossible. There should be no way you could have done that! The mathematical calculations, the dimensional expansions, they shouldn't be feasible for a child!"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "This is why I like my Doctor better. He learned the value of the word impossible as something that should never be said because someone would go and break it."

"It doesn't change the fact that it shouldn't be possible for you to...to do what you did! You're, what, five? Six?"

"I'm supposed to be seven, thank you, but that isn't important. Since when has age ever been of import when it comes to what someone can or cannot do?" Harry brushed himself off and leaned against a coral structure, trying to regain his bearings. The Tardis tried to caress him, but the pain was still too fresh and she couldn't push it aside. He stroked the coral strat soothingly, letting her taste his magic and wrap around it a bit. He looked accusingly at his father. "You haven't been taking very good care of her," he accused.

The Doctor stumbled back, shocked. "You...are you talking to the Tardis? That's impossible!"

Harry sighed. "I really am very glad you got rid of that word by the time I came around. It is rather annoying. And it still doesn't change the fact that you haven't been caring for her. She's in pain and she's trying to find some comfort in you, help you, and you won't let her."

The Doctor glared at him. "I...I can't. I just, what I just did...I shouldn't even be here. It's her fault I'm here. I should have...I should have been there, with them, but she wouldn't let me! She wouldn't let me stay and die with my people!" Harry stiffened slightly at this. He had underestimated how bad this time was for his father.

"That still doesn't make it right! She's all you have left then, yeah? All you have left of home? Then you should treasure her! Find comfort in her, she's home for you now, all the home you have! Ignoring her won't make it any better, you or her!"

Blue eyes pierced him. "I destroyed my entire race, all of them. How will I ever get 'better'?"

"You will. It'll take time, and others. It'll take a lot of time and you'll feel terrible for a long while. It won't go away, my Doctor still hurts, but it's better, and he loves the Tardis." Harry was still trying to wrap his head around the destruction of the Time Lords at the hands of his father, he had never really heard that before. He never actually knew what had happened and his dad was sure that he was kept away from any of his own personal documents about Gallifrey. He thought it was for other reasons, maybe embarrassment, his dad didn't want Harry getting a hold of his school records or whatever, but maybe...maybe it was worse. He knew Gallifrey was gone. He learned as much when he was younger and had wanted to go. He knew it had perished in a terrible war with the Daleks, but he was never sure how. He would have a talk with his father when he got back.

If he got back.

Harry and the Doctor stared at each other, blue eyes against green.

"Who are you? To me? Who are you to your Doctor? Because you aren't just some companion to him, no companion would ever speak to him like that. Like...like you have some kind of power or knowledge."

Harry sagged against the coral strut. "I can't tell you that. You should know that. Timelines have to be preserved, they are fragile things." Harry sent him a weak smile. "You'll have to find out in time."

The Doctor frowned. "I...I sort of remember you. You...you've shown up before, in the past. Why do I remember them now, when I see you, but I couldn't before?"

Harry gestured around him. "The Tardis. She does what she can to preserve the timeline by not letting anything slip through when it shouldn't."

"How could you know that?"

"I sort of talk to her."

"That...that's impossible," the Doctor stated flatly. Harry raised an eyebrow and refused to answer him. "How do you talk to the Tardis? She's an eleven dimensional being who exists at all points simultaneously. How could you possibly talk with her?"

Harry patted the coral strut. "Mostly though emotions and pictures. It's easier. DOn't have to deal with all that talking business. Tenses get in the way when you travel in time, or when you exist at all points in time." Harry shrugged "And I don't think I'll be here much longer. My Doctor is getting better at fixing whatever error I had in my calculations." He appraised the Doctor. "And you need to start helping your home. She's upset, just as much as you are. And she couldn't lose her Doctor. Whatever she did, she did it to save you." Harry smiled at him. "And I am so glad she did. You are the best thing that ever happened to me."

The look of astonishment on the Doctor's face as he disappeared in a swirl of white light. It was getting tiring, it really was.

~~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~

"Almost...not quite yet...Harry, you really messed up this time didn't you? Screwed the maths up right and proper. When you get back I am going to make sure you get your remedial maths lesson in triplicate. This will never ever happen again. Ever. If I catch you so much as carrying a two improperly you'll be doing all your basic calculus all over again. I'll block off all the quantum-based books, everything that has anything more than four dimensions in it and you won't be touching it. I'll make sure of that."

Rose stood in the doorway, worrying her lip and growing increasingly concerned. The Doctor had been struggling with it his son's equations for the better part of an hour or so and with each pulse of white light, Rose fretted more. Harry had yet to reappear and she could see the panic rising in her Doctor.

She didn't know how much longer he would hold out. She hoped Harry would be back soon.

~~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~

Harry landed and his eyes were filled with white light. It was getting worse, these trips. Each time it was worse and worse. This time it took a while, fifteen seconds, for the light to clear from his eyes and his vision to register more than just pure white.

And, judging by the dark wood construct around him, he was still not home. This was becoming far more than just frustrating. It was becoming irritating and he wanted to be with his dad and not his previous incarnations who he couldn't tell anything about himself. If he could just tell them he was their son, from the future, it would be far easier, but his father had drilled the preservation of the timeline into his skull since he was old enough to understand the concept of time travel. The Tardis could only hide so much, and something significant as a son would break through the wall at some time and the timeline would be broken. He couldn't.

Which meant the man standing over him with the floppy red hair in ringlets and dressed in a velvet green coat was, judging on the fashion sense, his father. What incarnation, he wasn't sure, but it was definitely his dad. Only his dad had such bad fashion sense.

"Well, hello there. Who might you be? And how did you appear inside my Tardis?" Harry groaned, pushing himself up. He felt hands lift him, steadying him. "You are a small one, aren't you? So how did you get in here? I saw the white light, so some sort of transportation, but nothing I can trace. No spatial transference."

This was the, Harry counted, fourth time he explained this. It was getting tiring. "I messed up a temporal calculation. I'm shifting only in time, not space. It's a Temporal Shift and I'm stuck in it until my Doctor can fix it. So i'll be guesting in this version of the Tardis for a bit." He smiled weakly.

"Are you okay? You look a bit unstable," the Doctor said, concern rushing across his face. Harry raised an eyebrow. This incarnation of the Doctor was far more concerned with well being than most others, especially those who didn't know him.

"Just...the shifting is starting to cause physiological effects. It's a side effect of temporal travel without a stable transport method or shell. Much more and I won't be in one piece anymore. If I wasn't who I was, I would probably have been a goner much sooner. As it is I only have one, maybe two trips left before my body starts to break down."

The Doctor looked disconcerted, worried. "But you're just a child! How could this have happened to you?"

"I messed up a calculation at the core of a temporal/spatial transport device and fed it into a device. And until my Doctor stabilizes it I'll be shunted through time until I'm in little pieces or until the Doctor manages to get me back in the right time. Which I dearly hope is soon."

"I as well, if this is so dangerous. How did I ever let you do this?"

"You didn't know. I was just experimenting. I didn't think it would do anything, but I must have fed the activation code in as well when I sent the calculations in."

The Doctor led him to a rather comfortable armchair, letting him sit down and take stock of his body as he bustled off somewhere. Harry could feel his heart straining just a bit, calming down now as he had a break between shifts. His stomach was churning uncomfortably and his brain was racing. He would take any amount of punishment right now, just to be back home.

The Doctor hurried back in, a steaming mug in his hand, and Harry smiled. The tea. Of course. What else could it have been?

"Here, tea. It should help soothe you some. If nothing else it tastes amazing. From Frion, the Tea Planet. Settled by descendants of the British, who managed to turn a local crop used for health purposes into a drink. Made a fortune. And excellent tea."

Harry grinned wider. "My favorite." He took the mug, sipping and sighing in contentment. The Doctor watched him intently, and Harry looked him over. A very effeminate man, this Doctor. Longish red-blonde hair, delicate features, velvet green jacket. Harry would tease him about it for a long time to come.

"So, young one, what is your name, and how exactly did you manage such a spectacular mistake? Why haven't the Time Lords interfered? This should register as a rather large disturbance on their instruments."

"In order then. I'm Harry, I think I forgot to account for the extra dimensions within the Tardis and I fed the activation code into the device as well as the basic code, and" Harry shrugged. "Not sure. Possible because I stay within the Tardis each time I shift so I don't really go anywhere spatially and the Tardis protects me from their peering eyes." He smiled.

The Doctor chuckled. "You are an interesting young one, Harry. I take it you're rather brilliant, so I can understand how you might have managed to do such a wonderful job of mucking up your numbers, but how did you do so without me noticing?"

"Er...I sort of borrowed a spare lab in a back corner of the Tardis. And I never told you about it." THe Doctor laughed.

"Oh, I see you're going to be a right handful when I finally meet you." Harry hid his face in his mug sheepishly. "So, when do I meet you?"

Harry tilted his head at him. "Really? You're trying to find out the future?"

"Have to give it a shot." They traded grins. "I knew there was a reason the Time Lords exiled me. Never conventional. Teaching children temporal mathematics. I bet that tickled them."

Harry blinked in shock, before he collected himself, but it didn't escape the Doctor. It was news, that the Doctor was exiled. What else didn't he know about his dad? "Um, yeah, I guess," Harry hedged. The Doctor looked at him closely.

"You...you don't know anything about it, do you? About the Time Lords. Just what am I teaching you about?"

Harry shrunk into his chair. He didn't trust himself to speak. This incarnation was sharp, sharper than he had expected, and he caught every shift, every twitch.

~~~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~

"Ah-Ha! Got it! That boy, when he gets here I'm going to be sitting him down with all remedial math and dimensional calculations and he won't be touching technology until he can name the calculations and expansions for all of them. This will not be happening again!"

The Doctor ran a hand through his wild, gravity defying hair and typed in a few more numbers before he spun around and raced for the door. Rose grinned. The white light in the room flashed brightly, before it died down. The Doctor spun in a circle in the hallway, smiling.

"Did...is Harry coming back Doctor?" Rose asked softly.

"Oh yes," he said, smiling broadly. "He'll be back, and he has quite a bit to answer for."

~~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~

Harry gasped softly as his body was surrounded by light. He looked up at the Doctor and smiled weakly. Everything that was coming before him, the Time War and the loss of his people. Harry could only offer a wave as he vanished in a swirl of light. Hopefully for home and his dad and the Tardis he knew.

His body protested the travel even more, and when he landed (he still had the mug from the earlier Doctor) his entire body shuddered in protest. The Tardis filtered into his mind, concerned, no longer laughing. Harry knew he had no more of those shifts left in him. His body was not happy, not happy at all. His magic sparked and danced on his skin and little lightning bolts of energy flared up and down his body. He groaned.

"I so hope I'm back in the right time. I really do."

He heard voices filtering down the hall. "Is Harry coming back Doctor?" It was Rose.

"Oh yes." He heard his father say, sounding relieved. "He'll be back, and he has quite a bit to answer for." So he was back. His relief at being returned to the right time overshadowed the trepidation at the consequences of his actions.

He called out, "Dad! Dad! I'm in the console room!" He hoped his weak cry would reach them. And, hearing the running footsteps, it obviously did.

"Harry! Harry! Oh, Harry, you're back! When I'm done hugging you you are in so much trouble!" Harry was summarily lifted off the floor and hugged tightly. He didn't have the breath to protest, not that he wanted to. His dad was here, he was back in the right time, and there was nothing better than that.

"Hey dad," he whispered. "I had quite the adventure." His dad laughed weakly, and he saw Rose standing behind, smiling happily, tears in her eyes. He smiled at her, before dropping into a dead faint. He had had a long day.

~~~~~~This is an Ending~~~~~

Hey, an update earlier than my usual ones! Joy and celebration!

Thank you to all of you for your amazing words! For those who replied anonymously, or those who I can't reply to via Private Messaging, thank you. Thank you so much! I'm sure this chapter will leave some questions, but I hope the adventure was interesting enough! For those who know the classic series much much better than me (i know the 4th Doctor well, the 1st sort of, and the 8th) I apologize for any inconsistencies. 0.0

Thank You so Much!

Kuroi


	13. In Which There is Learning

So, hello everyone. Here's a chapter I know some of you have been sort of waiting for (though in a different kind of way than you might be thinking...). I hope you enjoy!

Anime Sage, I'M SO SORRY I HAVEN'T GOTTEN BACK TO YOU! University sorta jumped on me and tackled me to the ground. 0.0 I'll get back soon, promise! Now that I've sort of gotten used to what my schedule will be like.

Geeky Trenchcoat in the Impala (love the name, by the way. huge SPN fan...0.0): Thank you so much for all your advice on things! ^_^

Now, onto the story!

~~~~~~~This is a Beginning~~~~~~~

Sirius Prime Entertainment Paradise was a spectacular feat of engineering, made up of several species' advances in technology and suspended in geostationary orbit around the outer moon of a human-friendly planet. It was made up of a dozen platforms, each ascending platform slightly smaller than the one below it, encapsulated in an impermeable bubble of oxygen and nitrogen rich air, breathable for the majority of species in the alliance of the time.

The lowest level, largest and most expansive, was home to the offices, homes, and maintenance required to house the workers and keep the platforms running. With a standing workforce of ten thousand, they needed a lot of housing and plenty of basic necessities. Which meant the platform above that was the shopping district, with marketplaces, stores, restaurants, general supplies and a sizable town full of nothing but essential supplies for living.

But the Entertainment part started on the third platform, with the majority of crazy, insane rides and space-travelling roller coasters taking up enough space to entertain a small planet. Which was generally the number of visitors they received weekly. Above that were the gaming arcades, booths for 3-D immersion and any number of the latest tech in entertainment.

The fifth through seventh floors catered to the spas, relaxation and restoration clientele, with a full array of spa immersions, skin treatments for all kinds, and hotel rooms that were ludicrously expensive. The eighth floor was all for tots, the young ones who had an entire floor child-proofed so any species' youth could explore, play, and have fun while parents or older siblings went elsewhere.

The ninth floor was devoted to the up and coming in the tech world. A techno-lover's paradise, with presentations on what was interesting and fascinating, new finds, and even research laboratories for experimentation. The tenth and eleventh floors were home to rotating spectacles, reserved for the next best thing in the universe. Currently there was a musical performance from one of the nearby planets on the tenth and some kind of art demo with 4D projections and an interactive exhibit on the eleventh. The top floor was for the explorer, reaching out into space so far that it had special outlets in the bubble and anyone who wanted to explore had to sign several waivers and take personal responsibility for their exploits. Suits were mandatory and young children weren't allowed.

All along the outer rim were shuttle bays with convenient short-range teleports to the main lobby in the center of the platform, whereby any level (save the lowest one without permission) could be accessed.

It lasted for six centuries before war tore it apart, but it was one of the most peaceful and prosperous six centuries in the universe.

And it was where Harry had decided to spend his birthday. Smack in the middle of the Paradise's height was a birthday outing for the out-of-time and out-of-place boy.

Harry laughed as he danced along the edge of the platform that made up the third level of Sirius Prime Entertainment Paradise, enjoying the rush of his favorite ride still coursing in his veins. Below he could see the platform where the market place was and, in the far corner, his favorite booth, selling miscellaneous electronics parts that the ancient owner had collected over the centuries (or at least so Harry believed. He had always been there, no matter what century in the platform's history they showed up in). He would beg to go down there later, but for now, he was enjoying the Star Shavings and waiting to get on the next ride.

His dad, Rose, and uncle Jack weren't far behind, laughing and eating their own sweets. Harry could feel his dad's eyes on him more often than not though. Ever since that incident with the Time Shift, Harry's freedom had been limited and anything he wanted to do experiment wise had to be passed through a rigorous examination, where Harry had to have a goal, a plan on how to get there, and whenever he wrote out any calculations he had to show him to his dad. It least he wasn't doing basic maths again. He had been stuck doing basic calculus forever, and that was after he proved he knew his algebra, geometry and trigonometry. Over and over again. He never wanted to see a basic algebra book again if he could help it.

But he wasn't here for the market and its technologies. It was his 8th birthday and he had chosen to come and celebrate it here, where he could ride the zero-grav roller coaster, the quantum slingshot, and take part in all the awesome sweets that were available at theme parks. And, from what he knew of the Paradise's history, there had been no altercations, malfunctions, or problems with this particular point in time. Which meant that, no matter how much he loved running around and chasing after his dad on save-the-world missions, his birthday wouldn't end up turning into one of them. Especially since the last time he was here they had to prevent the total collapse of the infrastructure caused by metal-eating nanobots unleashed by, it would seem, an irate former employee.

Turning eight also meant he would get to go visit Merlin again, a trip he had been looking forward to for quite awhile, ever since the wizard had helped him fix his magic. Which was why he was eagerly dancing along the edge of the platform, working off nerves and wondering if he could ask his dad to visit Merlin or if he should just program the Tardis himself. Though that would no doubt get him into trouble, which he really didn't need to get into right now.

He shouldn't have been worrying, especially since he wasn't the only one looking forward to seeing Merlin again. His dad was well aware of it, and Jack was certainly conscious of the ever closing date. But Harry didn't know that and he was worried.

He saved his questions until, after several more trips on the Centrifugal Cyclone and Magnetic Bumper Balls, a trip through the market and a stroll down part of the shopping district, they ended up back in the Tardis. The moment the door shut behind them and the noise and constant hum of electronics vanished, Harry turned to look at his dad.

"Um, so, I was wondering, well, I just turned eight, I think, well, what with not really knowing my birth date and all and the Tardis and such, I might be eight, or seven. I mean, since we're basing my age off the cycle of Earth, which is really biased, I mean, since Jefraxian has a 50 day cycle, but their days are really long, so I mean, on that planet I would be ten if I do the math right, though you would have to account for the occasional shift in Jefraxian orbit, which often makes their days a little longer and their years a bit longer, then it wouldn't be quite the same, so I might be five there, maybe, but since we don't really have an age-based measuring system in the Tardis, I don't really know, even though the Earth has a 365 day or so cycle, seeing as there is a leap-year every four years. Though that could mean something else entirely, but I'm not supposed to look into it right now, but that's not the point. I mean, I suppose I'm eight now, or something, but that's not really important, cause we decided today was when I turned eight so that's alright, so I was wondering if, I mean, cause I'm eight now, if we could possibly go see, um, go see Merlin again?" He ended on what might be called a mumble, eyes glued to the floor. He wasn't all too sure of why he was so hesitant, though seeing as how he had finally gotten back into good enough graces that he wasn't doing basic maths anymore and was actually allowed to touch things in the labs, he didn't want to do anything that might jeopardize his newfound freedom.

He hesitantly looked up in the ensuing silence, only to find his uncle trying not to laugh hysterically, shoulders shaking, Rose suppressing chuckles and his dad blinking, mildly surprised.

"Um, are you alright?" Harry asked. That was all it took, and his uncle burst, laughing loud enough to send echos around the Tardis. Rose too started chuckling and Harry wasn't sure what he should do, aside from stand and awkwardly toe at the ground.

"Oh, that was brilliant. Absolutely amazing!"

"He is his father's son!"

"The part with the orbits, that was great!"

"You owe me a fiver Jack!"

Harry looked at his dad, then over at the two other laughing members of the Tardis. His dad smiled at him.

"Of course. Though you could have just asked outright. No need for all the mumbling. It's been approximately four years, eight months and two days since we last saw Merlin, you're old enough now."

That only sparked another round of guffaws from Jack. The Doctor pushed Harry gently to the other door.

"Can we go now?" Harry asked plaintively.

"No. We've just had a long day. Get some sleep first. We'll go tomorrow." Harry nodded, smiling, before he took his presents and headed off to his room. The Doctor turned to Rose and Jack. "Alright, what is this all about?" he asked, gesturing to the laughing pair.

Rose looked at him with a beaming smile. "Harry is absolutely adorable!" she exclaimed, giggling.

"It's just...him standing there, debating his own age, he sounded so much like you. I wish I had a video!" Jack managed to stop laughing, standing up straight. "I bet Rose here that he wouldn't be able to ask at all. I lost that one!"

"Why wouldn't he ask?" The Doctor looked mildly incredulous. He turned to the console and set a course for the vortex. They would hang there until Harry woke up and then they would head off for Merlin.

Rose and Jack traded looks. "Have you seen how hard you've been on him since the incident with the Time Shift, Doctor? I'm surprised you let him out of the Tardis without holding his hand, frankly."

"That incident had more to do with mathematical incompetence than an inability to think logically. A problem I have, recently, rectified. It shouldn't have had any effect on his ability to follow directions in a dangerous situation, much less a quiet outing on Sirius Prime. And besides, he's known he would go see Merlin whenever he had his eighth birthday. It wasn't exactly a secret."

"You've been keeping a close eye on him. I wouldn't be surprised if he was scared to ask," Jack said, a little more subdued but a smile still stretched across his face.

"Nonsense. He asked, we're going. It's fine."

Rose and Jack traded significant looks, before Rose dragged the Doctor out of the console room. "Time for a quick lesson in childhood punishment perspective," she said to him firmly. "A peek at how children see a punishment."

Jack laughed at the mild look of panic that spread across the Doctor's face. He was glad to be back on the Tardis with little Harry, the Doctor and Rose. He headed for the library. He could get a few more laps in before bed.

Harry scrambled out of bed and raced for the console room, barefoot and in little mobile planet pants. He had forgone a shirt going to bed the night before. This didn't seem to concern him though, and he skidded, barefoot and wide eyed, into the console room. Rose and his dad were already there, though Jack, in true Jack fashion, had not appeared, though Harry didn't doubt that he was awake somewhere in the Tardis. He sometimes wondered if his uncle ever slept. His dad rarely did, only lured to bed by Rose, and Harry did NOT want to know what happened there. At all.

His state of undress did not go unnoticed by Rose, at the very least, who giggled and tapped his dad on the shoulder. The Doctor turned, catching sight of his son, and suppressed a laugh of his own.

"Harry, before we can go anywhere you might want to be decently clothed. Merlin might not appreciate a pupil who can't put on a shirt at the very least." Harry blinked, looked down at himself, then turned on his heel with a cheeky grin and dashed back to his room.

He did have a parting shot before he left though. "I would probably be less anachronistic half naked then you would be in that suit dad!"

Rose giggled. "I sometimes wonder how much of that cheeky personality he got from you and how much was his naturally," she commented offhandedly.

"Oh, that's the Doctor's influence if you ask me. And it is such a brilliant personality, if you ask me." Jack wandered in, a piece of half eaten toast in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

"Thank you for your opinion on my parenting skills. Now, we are going to visit Merlin. No idea how long, but it would be better to try and not seem too out of place so..." The Doctor stopped talking as Rose and Jack burst into laughter. "What? What is it? Do I have something in my teeth?"

"Blend in? You talking about blending in? Did you not just hear your son? You've never changed out of that suit and jacket!" Rose giggled in his ear. Harry popped his head back in, black hair as orderly as it ever was, though as it got longer it was a bit more tolerable, eyes wide.

"Dad going on about blending in again?" he asked, catching sight of his father's incensed face and Rose and his uncle's laughter. "You never blend in dad, you can't give those lectures unless you want to change into something less...out of place." Harry gestured at his father's clothing. The Doctor frowned.

"These are perfectly fine. Besides, I've never gotten in trouble in any time no matter what I've worn." Harry shook his head.

"Yeah, whatever dad. That's because you tend to overwhelm them with things that are a little crazier than your clothing." Harry was wearing a slightly shiny silver shirt, loose but comfortable, with black pants that cinched at his waist and were loose down to his bare feet. He was still unwilling to wear shoes and the Doctor hadn't quite won that battle yet.

Rose and Jack finally giggled their last and breathed deeply, smiling at the father and son.

"Still not wearing shoes Harry?" Jack asked.

Harry shook his head. "No. They're evil. I hate shoes. Irritating and not fun."

The Doctor rolled his eyes towards the Tardis ceiling. "Save me from impertinent and stubborn children," he muttered. Rose, to his misfortune, heard him and smacked his arm.

The Doctor sighed and looked at Harry. "Alright then, off to Merlin then. You ready Harry?"

Harry bounced on his toes, smiling widely. "Yes! Yes, yes yes!" The Doctor laughed and threw switches and levers, Harry laughing as he danced around, feeling the Tardis leave the Vortex and head towards Earth. "Merlin! Merlin! Merlin!" When the Tardis landed, he headed towards the door and flung it open.

Rose watched from the console, Head resting on the Doctor's shoulder, smile on her face. Jack hung near one of the Coral struts. "You gonna head out after him?" she asked the Doctor softly.

"As soon as he leaves, yeah. He's still inside. Which is a little odd, really." He scowled thoughtfully, until Harry turned back towards him, exasperation on his face.

"Dad, we've only just left Merlin from last time! You forgot to calibrate the Time Rotor, didn't you?" He sent a wave back over his shoulder and headed towards the console, hand reaching for a lever and looking at a certain dial.

"Harry," the Doctor said, reaching over to stop his son. But he wasn't quite quick enough and had barely brushed Harry's hands when Harry had turned the dial, stumbled, hit a lever and then pulled another. The Doctor groaned.

"Um...sorry. I...didn't mean to," Harry said. The Tardis blinked brightly and the Doctor looked up.

"I think...she wants us to get out. Yeah, now. Right now. Out! out out out!"

They all piled out of the Tardis, into a stone hallway and mildly confused. Harry glanced at the closing doors of the blue police box the Tardis always was when it materialized. "What's wrong dad? I didn't hear anything from her."

The Doctor looked at him, then at the Tardis. "She was not pleased with the controls being messed with the way they were. The flashing lights are not good. We'll have to give her a bit of time." He looked around. "In the meantime, we can take a look around. We can't be that far from where we left, time and place wise. Still Earth, still early 1000's or so." He glanced around, sticking his hands in his pocket. Without his long brown coat he seemed underdressed. Jack was also missing his long coat, but otherwise wasn't too odd in classic jeans and a button up shirt. Rose wore loose pants and a wrap around light blue shirt.

As they loitered in the hallway, debating which direction to set off in, they heard a startled sound from down the hall. Harry was the first to turn, and caught sight of a woman in yellow robes with light, honey colored hair staring at them. He smiled. "Hi there. Could you tell us where we are? Afraid we got a bit lost."

The woman looked puzzled. "How could you not know where you are? Apparition points are restricted to the main hall with permission and floo hasn't been connected here." She looked at the group more closely. "And you are unfamiliar to me. Which is impossible."

"Oh, um, well, we're new here. Just got here in fact. Just popped in, really. Not too sure of where we are, just wondering..." Harry was cut off by Rose's hand on his shoulder and he looked at her gratefully.

"Hello. My name is Rose, the chattering child is Harry, the tall man in suspenders is Jack and the bloke with the suit is the Doctor. We apologize for the confusion. While I can't explain exactly how we got here, we would be grateful if you could tell us where we are." Rose's tone was of calm and confidence, achieved over years of working with panicked people and in dangerous situations. It worked, and the woman's alarm and confusion dwindled.

"Well, in that case, if you could come with me, it would be easier if you could join my colleagues as well. We are at Hogwarts," she added, a smile twitching at her lips. "Though I would still like to know how you managed to get somewhere without knowing where you were going."

Jack smiled. "The same question I'm always asking, fair lady," he said with a bow . "And may we have your name?" It was unmistakable to miss the flirtatious tone in his voice.

Harry though was far more excited about their location, and he tugged at his dad's arm. "We're at Hogwarts dad! Hogwarts!"

The Doctor smiled widely. "I heard. Not a bad detour, huh?"

Harry shook his head. "Nope! This is awesome!"

The woman leading them down stone halls and up and down stairs was laughing at Jack's flirtatious smiles. "Young man, I teach plenty of students who try the same thing every year. Though to answer your question, my name is Helga Hufflepuff. I am one of the four founders of Hogwarts." She gestured at a statue of a gargoyle. "And this is the entrance to our offices. Apero!"

The gargoyle came to life, shivered, as if getting rid of its stone coating, and looked about itself. "Who wants in?" it said, voice gravelly and distinctly neutral.

Helga sighed. "I believe we put too much magic in the building of this castle. Everything in it has such an attitude." She turned to the statue. "Helga Hufflepuff and guests, requesting access," she said. The gargoyle eyed her and then the guests behind her, before shifting, and the wall behind it moved aside. The stairs it revealed, moving, had Harry wiggling on his feet.

"Magic dad! Magic! Actual magic!" The three adults didn't think he could get any more excited. Helga Hufflepuff looked at Harry in mild surprise.

"Is there something shocking, young man?" she asked Harry.

Harry smiled widely. "I just, I've never seen magic from someone else! I know there are other human magic users, it's just, I'm usually the only one."

Helga looked at him, then at the Doctor, Rose, and Jack. "So you all do not have magic then?" At a negative head shake, she frowned. "Then how did you manage to get into Hogwarts in the first place? Non-magicals should not be able to enter."

Harry raised his hand. "Probably me. I've got that kind of effect."

"So, let me understand you correctly. The only one with magic here is the child,"

"Harry," Harry interrupted.

"Is Harry," Helga repeated with the air of one who is long used to children. "You can't tell me how you got here in the first place, and you didn't even know where you ended up." She looked at them with a clinical eye. "I'm sure my colleagues will love chatting with you."

Rose caught the Doctor's eye and smiled. Jack clapped them on the shoulder. "Well, we've managed to land in it this time. Sharp one, she is," Jack said in an undertone.

"I'm sure we'll figure something out. It isn't as if she's threatening us," Rose whispered back. "And Harry will no doubt distract them with some feat of magic or whatnot."

The Doctor smiled tightly at her. "That's what I'm worried about," he said softly.

Rose and Jack looked taken aback. "But why? Harry's a pretty capable magic user. I'm sure he'll manage to worm his way in." Rose looked at Jack. "Right?"

"Yeah. The little tyke is a rather good magic user..."

"That's the problem. If, no, when, because this is Harry, he shows something off, his unusual capability for magic will, no doubt, be something that they find astonishing. I'm worried that they will be more likely to figure out why then they will be to teach him. Or help him, or just leave him alone. It's the drive of the intelligent that, when they find something unusual, they have to investigate, which I am not willing to let happen." Before they could discuss any further, they reached the top of the stairs and Helga opened the door at the top.

Immediately they heard a rather high pitched yelp, followed by a growl of frustration. "Come on Salazar, it was just a joke! In good sport!" a loud, male voice yelled, a tinge of humor and fear in it.

Another voice, deeper and full of anger, replied. "Just because your sense of humor hasn't evolved past the age of ten doesn't mean you need to inflict it upon my person. Now take your punishment like a man and stop darting about!"

"Not if you don't put that sword down. I'll stay as fairie like as possible until then." The whistling of a sword through fabric sounded and then an exasperated sigh.

"Alright, I know that you two can't get along without having to show some sense of masculine superiority in a childish display of stupidity, but unless you can sit down and shut up until Helga joins us I will turn you both into small rodents and stick you to the outside of the tower." The voice was female, calm, and tinged with warning. It was enough for the two others, and they sat down without further ado.

Helga, who had been keeping them outside the main room, fond amusement on her face, opened the door and walked in. "Hello Wen, I see you've managed to tame our two children. I have brought some guests as well."

"Guests? But it is the Harvest. There shouldn't be anyone here, not for another three weeks." Helga gestured them in, and Harry needed no more incentive.

"Hi! I'm Harry. This place is brilliant! So much magic and everything! It's so amazing!" Harry spun in circles. The Doctor, Rose, and Jack entered much more sedately, and the took in the room and its occupants. Wen, the woman Helga had spoke to, sat at a desk with a pen in hand, a slender length of wood in the other. Her pitch black hair was tied in an intricate knot, skin tanned from work under the sun. Vibrant blue eyes looked at them, appraising. Salazar, distinguished by the long, slender sword in one hand, was darker skinned, olive, with unusually light colored hair and bright moonstone eyes, and was eyed them impassively. And what could only be an overeager ten year old in adult form sat, quivering in excitement, with flame red hair and pale skin dotted with freckles. He looked like he burned easily in the sun.

"Who are you? And how did you get inside Hogwarts without disturbing the wards?" Wen said, voice cool. Harry spun on his feet to look at her and spoke before his dad, Rose, or Jack could say anything.

"This is amazing! You all have magic! I have magic to! We were supposed to be meeting Merlin but got slightly misplaced! It's nice to meet you!"

Wen looked at him. "You are young to know so much. Many come to us from magical families, but you do not, it seems." She looked at the Doctor, Rose, and Jack. "No, I think not. So how do you know you have magic, young Harry?"

Harry smiled. "Cause I can make things just by asking my magic. It's really easy!" And, before his dad could so much as say, "No, Harry!" Harry had twirled his fingers around and conjured his miniature solar system.

Rose turned to look at the Doctor. "Is that what you were afraid of?" she asked softly.

The Doctor looked at his soon with proud, if exasperated, eye. "Yes. Unfortunately Harry is often far more concerned with showing off than with thinking rationally when it comes to magic."

"So a bit like you with technology then," Rose commented cheekily. "Oi!" Rose laughed at him. "I'm sure Harry will be fine Doctor. It seems like they're far more interested in how he did it rather than anything else." Which was true enough. The crowd of Hogwarts Founders were, as a whole, wide eyed.

"How old are you child?" Salazar asked.

Harry turned. "My name is Harry and I'm eight, I think. Most likely." Harry spun his solar system around in a circle, before he collapsed it. "I like magic, it's really pretty, friendly."

"For one so young, that should be impossible. How can you do such things?" Wen asked.

"I've never really not been able to do whatever I wish with magic, unless it's really big. I mean, mostly just making my solar system and bringing small objects to me. Oh, and I don't really get hurt." Harry pondered.

"It is unheard of," Salazar said. "But not impossible. If one's magic was powerful enough than it would be readily accessible from a young age."

The bouncy young man in the far couch sprung up. "That is amazing young Harry. I wish you would show me what you did." Harry looked at him. "I am Godric, young Harry. It is a pleasure to meet such a powerful young magic user."

Harry smiled brightly. "Alright. I mean, I don't really know how I do it, I just ask my magic and it helps me make what I want."

"This is most unusual." Godric leaned closer, watching closely as Harry spun his hands around and his solar system reappeared. "It seems...yes, it does seem that your core is enormous. I have never seen such a large magical core."

Harry peered at him curiously. "Core? You mean where my magic is, right?" Godric nodded. "Yeah, when I was younger I had some help in expanding it because something happened. So now it fits against the inner layer of my skin."

"That's impossible," Wen snapped suddenly. Harry looked at her, eyes wide. "No core can possibly be so large, that would require an enormous amount of energy, and...and...how could you possibly know?"

"I would like to know as well," Helga said. "It is unheard of for one so young to know their own magic so well." Harry looked around him, then back at his dad, unsure of how to explain.

The Doctor smiled at the lost look on Harry's face, then stepped forward, clearing his throat. Everyone turned to look at him, momentarily confused and slightly irritated. It was as if they had forgotten they were there. "Well, I may not have magic, but Harry is my child so I can speak on what happened to him with some authority."

The four studied him for a moment, then Salazar gestured for him to continue. "Go on then, Doctor. I suppose a parent would have authority on their child, even if the parent has no magic."

The Doctor smiled at him. "Yes, I have no magic, but that doesn't mean I don't understand some things about it. Harry was born with a large amount of magic, more than most adult wizards have. It only grew as he did, but then something happened to him when he was three. He was injured by a party who had a grudge against me, and his magic was locked inside him. It took a very powerful and, thankfully, friendly wizard to help release it. To do so, from what I understood, he expanded the edges of Harry's core until it had an access to the surface of his skin by directly touching it. His core doesn't escape his body, but rather nestles inside of his skin, a second skin, if you want to think of it like that." Harry had moved to stand by his dad, Rose and Jack coming up behind him.

"So, if I understand, Harry's core is...the same size as him? But such a core would be...unimaginably powerful. And unstable. There is a reason magic is limited to an inner core within the body with a network of connections to reach the skin. It is unsafe for it to be so large." Wen turned her head sideways, appraising Harry.

Harry looked uncertain, frowning and fiddling with his dad's jacket. "But, there wasn't another way. Before my magic was freed to its present state, it had been trapped. I couldn't use it, and it was making me sick. So when it was opened up, it helped rather than hurt. Though I was told that it was unstable. Not the first time, though this probably helps contain it somewhat." Harry touched the necklace around his neck, revealing to the room the gold, looping chain.

Wen stood up, coming around the desk to kneel in front of Harry. She reached out, then thought of something. "May I?"

"Alright, but be careful. I can't take it off...I never heard your name," Harry said suddenly.

"I am Rowena Ravenclaw, young Harry. And thank you. I shall keep that it mind. You needn't take it off." Rowena reached out a hand and touched the necklace gently, closing her eyes. "This...this is very unusual. Some kind of magic, but not a kind I am familiar with. It...it is a binding magic, keeping...keeping something in. Not just magic but also...I do not know. A kind of energy. Something I am unfamiliar with. But it is very strong. I can understand why it restricted your magic. How long have you been wearing it?"

"Since I was three, or thereabouts."

Rowena looked at him closely. "For five years? There must be a more important reason. Such a magic is unhealthy for a developing magical child. And you allowed it?" She looked at the Doctor.

The Doctor glowered. "You have no right to question my actions. I did what was best for my child, and due to the specific condition he has because of what was done to him, that necklace is the only thing between him and the loss of his mind." Rose put a calming hand on the Doctor's shoulder and Jack pulled Harry back, next to him. A united front against the four founders.

"I suspect that the actions taken were for the best, Rowena, and you should stop poking your nose where it doesn't belong," Salazar said from the chair he was seated on.

Rowena spun round, glaring at the other man. "But, the damage that it could have done, there could not possibly be a reason for the use of such a necklace. The things it could do..."

"Which is why, I suspect, Harry's core is so unusual. To make sure it can't hurt him. Calm down and use that brain of yours, rather than that indignation you are so intent on holding on to." Salazar looked at Rowena with raised eyebrows.

The woman huffed, spinning on her heel and returning to her seat behind the desk. Godric sprang up again. "Well, I think we can teach him a thing or two. Nothing too serious, he's still a tyke, but for now, there are some things that Harry can learn. And it might help stabilize his magic, make it less chaotic. So much chaos, you have." Godric smiled at Harry, who looked up at him. After a few moments of the staring contest, Harry nodded firmly.

He turned to look at his father. "Can I? Not for too long, but for a little while? Please dad?" The Doctor looked at Harry, then over at the four founders.

Rose's hand touching his shoulder made him turn around. "Doctor, it can't hurt. You can keep an eye on it, and besides, we can't leave at the moment. The Tardis won't let us in for a little bit, so Harry can learn until we leave."

"Yeah, I mean, what harm? Between the three of us little Harry here can be watched. There's just one of him and three of us." Jack beamed. "Though that doesn't necessarily mean Harry won't just slip away."

The Doctor looked at Harry again, then knelt down to look at him eye to eye. "Harry, are you sure?"

Harry looked indignant. "Of course I am. I know what I can do. I'm sure I can handle a few lessons in magic."

The Doctor sighed. "Alright, but just for a bit. It isn't your time to stay here for long." Harry nodded, understanding.

"Alright. I understand."

"Excellent," said Salazar from behind them. "Your lessons shall start immediately. Come with me." He looked at the other three founders as if daring them to disagree with him. No one said anything, though Helga had a smile and Godric looked crestfallen.

Harry wasn't quite sure where he was going, only that the tall, sword wielding man was leading him down numerous corridors and stairs without a word. Behind them, Jack was following, an amused smile plastered on his face. He was obviously not too concerned with Harry's predicament, other than making sure Harry was safe.

Which meant Harry was on his own with an unstoppable force for a founder. "Um...where are we going?" Harry asked. Salazar looked back briefly.

"To my teaching rooms. I shall evaluate you there, see what I can teach to one so young."

"What do you teach?" Harry inquired, head tilting.

"Primarily potions and transfiguration, though I share the former with Helga, since I have no hand for growing or caring for plants. Occasionally Godric gets it in his head he can wield a wand well enough for transfiguration and butts into my classes. Those are usually disastrous. Godric's ability to use a wand is, at best, non-explosive." Salazar glanced at him. "I pity your Defense lessons with him, he has an unfortunate habit of making students learn defense the hard way, at the edge of a sword." A considering head nod. "Maybe he'll take it easy and give you a dull sword. The question is will he use a dull one as well."

Harry paled slightly. He wasn't good with weapons. At all. Give him some random circuitry anytime, but hand him anything with a pointy end and he might end up sticking himself. He hoped Salazar was joking.

"Um, will he really do that?" Harry said worryingly.

"Most probably. Though I can say his wandless magic is quite powerful. You will do well listening to him." Salazar huffed. "Doesn't make him any less a child."

Harry wondered what kind of wizarding world he had dropped into, then shrugged and decided that he didn't really mind. Though, he thought, it would be strange living in the same time. Was there anything he would have to learn? There was something about how days were counted, specifically the length of them. But he wasn't really sure what they were. So many races had so many different methods, how was he supposed to figure out just one planet's? Even if it was a race his father was very fond of (and one he had been born from).

The walls were closing in slightly, and they were getting darker. Harry stumbled and put a hand out to steady himself, then froze. The walls, they...they were alive.

He stared in wonder at the stones, hands flat against them. He wondered why he hadn't felt it earlier, but it must be like the Tardis; if he was outside of it, he had to be in contact to talk to her. That...that must be the same here. Hogwarts was a castle built with magic, it would only be logical that the magic used would, in the process, gain the personalities of its builders and inhabit the stones.

But it was so powerful...the founders must be amazing magicals. His halt in progress was noticed by Salazar, who stopped and came back. Jack was behind Harry, resisting touching the child.

"What are you doing?" Salazar stopped and peered over Harry's shoulder. "Is there something on the wall particularly appealing?"

"The castle...it's alive." Harry said in wonder. "It...it has a soul, a personality and everything. And it's so young."

Salazar looked at Jack, eyes narrow. "Do you know what he is talking about?"

Jack shrugged. "Harry can sense when an object is sentient, despite its appearance. And he can speak with it."

"That...that is unusual." Salazar turned to Harry. "You say the castle is alive? How so?"

"Well, when you...built it, you used so much magic that it was absorbed into the stones. It...inherited the four founder's personalities and has formulated its own. I wouldn't be surprised if things start moving around of their own accord."

Salazar's eyes narrowed. "That would explain a few things. We have misplaced a couple rooms here and there. The stairs act odd occasionally." He looked at Harry. "Are you sure of this, young Harry?"

Harry nodded. "Of course. Though Hogwarts is still trying to figure things out. Not sure about everything...so young." Harry grinned. "I like this place! Everything is so exciting!"

Jack laughed. "Of course you'd say that in a castle that's alive. It just screams Harry."

"So...he does this often?" Salazar inquired.

Jack shrugged. "Unusual things and Harry tend to go together. It's just the way the universe works. If something odd is going on, you can bet Harry will be somewhere around it."

Salazar kept a close eye on Harry all the way to the dungeons. This young child was clearly powerful, and strange. There was something about him, his magic, everything about him, that seems so...strange. Not only his powerful magic and his unusual core, but his ability to talk to had suspected something was different about it when they had finished constructing the castle. Rooms had disappeared and reappeared when they weren't paying attention. Staircases moved around. Nothing major, but it was odd. Harry's comment on it being alive answered much about the castle and it's odd happenings.

But that only added to the strange being that was Harry, along with his odd uncle that insisted on following them, Harry's father, and the young girl with the honey colored hair. Salazar wasn't sure what to do about it, but he did know that it would be interesting to teach the young boy, that was for sure. He only hoped it would leave his labs in decent shape.

~~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~

The Doctor and Rose remained in the office with Helga, Godric, and Rowena.

"I have a feeling this isn't going to be a friendly chat," the Doctor murmured.

"What gave you that impression? Helga seems friendly enough," Rose replied. "Though I will agree that Rowena does not seem overly friendly."

"That piercing stare is quite unnerving," the Doctor agreed, though he seemed entirely unperturbed by said stare.

"Impressive. Not quite on par with, say, a Dalek, but nonetheless an impressive stare." Rose nodded her head.

Rowena's hands tightened. "Are you two quite through?" she snapped. Godric blinked.

"What's up your skirt?" he asked.

Rowena glanced sideways at him. "They are strangers, unknown and not magical, I would expect a little more respect."

"Wen, calm down. They are not a threat. While I would agree that their arrival is strange, it doesn't mean that you have to be rude."

Rowena sighed. "Fine. Fine. You two talk to them then." She turned to the wall. "I'm going to go do some research. Let me know when Salazar is done with the boy." She left with as much haughty, insulted grace as she could, long blue dress brushing the door frame.

Rose and the Doctor exchanged looks. "Well, that didn't take long. Do you think Harry can handle her?"

The Doctor grinned. "I'm sure. Though the question should be do you think they can handle Harry?"

Rose shook her head, a smile on her face.

Helga interrupted them with a soft cough. "Alright, there are a few questions that we would like answers to, and I believe we have the right to get honest answers, if for no other reason than your presence inside our castle." Helga leveled a look at them. "Can we agree on that?"

The Doctor looked between Godric, who had perched on the edge of the desk with Rowena's absence, and Helga. "Yes, that doesn't sound too unreasonable. But there are some things that, if I answer, would only lead to confusion. I can answer to the best of your understanding though."

Rose chuckled.

"Alright then. I can accept that, though it is an odd answer. I would think the first question would be how you got here."

The Doctor sighed. "And that answer would be a convoluted one. In your terms, I suppose I could say that...how do you perceive time?" the Doctor said suddenly. "I mean, what is time to you?"

"Time? You mean...the passing of days, candlemarks? Years, months, yes?" Helga questioned. The Doctor nodded. "Well, forward, I suppose. Time can only move forward, though you can review the past in memories. Rowena has been working on a device that is, if it works, used to return to a point in time that has already happened, but that is merely theoretical."

"So to you, time is a straight line, yes? Alright, so now, imagine time as more of a...big ball, all twisty and curvy and knotted. Some knots are larger than others, some lead to dead ends, others go on in a spiral, winding forever around and around. I can travel, well, I sort of, move around on those lines. One of them just happened to lead here. Don't always know where I end up, but it is always an adventure." The Doctor smiled.

Godric looked at him appraisingly. "That...is an unusual way of seeing time. I can't tell if you are really telling the truth, but you certainly have an interesting perception. Time as a big ball. Does that allow you to travel forward and backward? See how long a person lives? Is this something just you can do, or can all of you do this?"

"Excellent questions, Godric. Only, well, you saw that blue box, in the hallway Helga? Yes? Well, that is something that allows me to travel through time. It can transport those within it forward and backward in time, stopping on one knot or other.

Helga nodded thoughtfully. "So, let's say that we accept that at face value, since I don't quite understand what you are talking about specifically, even if it is interesting. How did someone without magic manage to raise a child with such powerful magic?"

The Doctor stared thoughtfully at Helga. "Well, I should say that an old acquaintance of mine managed to talk me into taking care of him. The fact that he has magic is merely a byproduct of who he is and we take it in stride. I teach him what I know and make sure he doesn't use his magic in any dangerous ways."

"But doesn't he do accidental magic?"

"Not since he was three and he hit his head on the stairs." The Doctor shrugged. "Why?"

"Well," Godric said. "Most children with magic often have incidents of accidental magic when they are emotionally charged. It is unusual for young children, especially powerful ones, to not have incidents of accidental magic."

The Doctor blinked. "That might be due to his own ability to control the magic. And his necklace. It restrains magic within him until he accesses it consciously."

Helga frowned. "I can see why Rowena was concerned over the use of this necklace. It isn't particularly healthy, but I suppose you know what you are doing, and what the wizard who helped you was doing as well."

The Doctor nodded, and Rose put her hand in his.

The interrogation continued.  
~~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~

Harry stared at the tools that were the basics of potions that he would be taking. While he knew them all individually, cooking was never really his thing. He wasn't allowed to cook in the kitchen, unless it was in the various instant cooking devices. Even then it was sketchy. His dad was prone to looking over his shoulder whenever he was in the kitchen. Then again, it didn't help that, at one point, he had almost burned all edible food to a crisp and the Tardis had been displeased enough to hide not only his room, but all bathrooms. It took a lot of cleaning and begging to get one of those back, and he had been stuck in the library on the couch for a few sleep cycles. Which wasn't really all that unusual, if he was honest. He had a habit of blowing things up or burning things, which didn't really sit well with the sentient ship.

Now he was supposed to be making potions, or at least he supposed he was. And he wasn't sure what to think about the ground salamanders. Jack had whispered to him that, on earth, salamanders were small lizards without any sentience, but he still couldn't quite get the picture of those friendly fire loving creatures that had been so nice to him after they managed to save their sacred fire from being extinguished. He wasn't sure he was going to like this.

And Salazar didn't seem to be too forgiving of mistakes. If anything, he was a strict teacher, even if he had a sense of humor and didn't mind Harry's sarcastic comments. Actually, Harry thought he was pretty amused by them.

Right now though, as Harry sat and reviewed a guidebook on the basics of potions and safety precautions, Salazar and uncle Jack were talking.

"So, is this anything like cooking?" Jack asked Salazar in an undertone.

Salazar cocked an eyebrow at him. "I suppose, in the non-magical world, cooking could be equated, though no one ever lets me near a kitchen. I tend to make a rather large mess of things and Rowena is never pleased." Jack laughed.

"You aren't the only one. Harry manages to blow himself up along with his surroundings whenever he's cooking. Just...just warning you."

Salazar nodded gravely. "I will take this into consideration. I must ask though, what do you know of his strange magic? It is most unusual, especially for one so young. His father is not magical, though I suppose the Doctor isn't his birth father."

Jack shook his head. "No, he isn't but he's the only father Harry's ever known. Harry's a bright child, but impulsive and stubborn. Hard headed is a really good word for him. He learns faster and better than anyone I know, but if he gets an idea in his head, the best thing you could do is follow along behind him to make sure he doesn't hurt himself."

"What about those around him?" Salazar asked with a serious expression marring his face.

"That is never really an issue. Harry would jump in front of a bullet for a complete stranger before he would so much as scratch an innocent bystander."

"A bullet? what is this?"

Jack coughed. "Um...a type of non-magical weapons projectile that flies through the air. Very rare right about now, might only find them in Asia at the moment..."

"Asia?"

Jack rubbed the back of his head. "Um, just ignore me, ok?"

Salazar laughed. "You are an amusing man."

Jack grinned. "Oh, I'm much more than that," he said lightly, a smirk gracing his features. Salazar raised an eyebrow.

"You are an odd one. Are you always so forward with your interests?"

"Only if I see someone beautiful," Jack said, looking Salazar up and down. "And you are quite the specimen."

"UNCLE! CAN YOU NOT FLIRT WHEN I'M SITTING RIGHT HERE?" Harry yelled, hands clamped over his ears. "I do NOT appreciate the show!"

"You should be reading, not paying attention to conversations between adults."

Harry scowled. "I wasn't paying attention. It's impossible to ignore uncle Jack when he's being all flirty and obnoxious."

Salazar laughed. "I happen to find your uncle rather charming, if a bit childish. Though I would recommend a couple drinks before you try any more of those charms."

Jack laughed "It's a deal."

Harry groaned. His uncle could never go that far without finding someone who would flirt with him. It just happened to be his teacher at the moment, which didn't bode well for his education. So he plodded on with reading through the potions book Salazar had given him. Better this than listening to the flirtations from across the room.

Teaching Harry was even more trouble than Salazar had anticipated. The child was brilliant, amazingly so, but he was so determined to try things out on his own, in his own way, rather than listening to set instructions. More often than not, this produced a rather large explosion, from which they emerged with singed eyebrows and another lost cauldron. Salazar was getting rather tired of this. They were trying to brew a simple Blood Replenishing potion, a simple, almost laughably easy, potion with a set series of simple instructions and almost no hazardous effects if something was done wrong. Or at least Salazar had thought so, but in the space of an afternoon, he was proven sorely mistaken. Somehow, Harry managed to destroy three cauldrons and leave soot marks on the ceiling. It was worse than Jack had warned him of.

Jack was leaning on a far wall, watching the proceedings with interest. He could see where the problem was, unlike Salazar, who stood opposite Harry. Harry was secretly pointing his cobbled together sonic screwdriver at the pot thing (cauldron he heard Salazar correct Harry in a weary voice). What his aim was, Jack couldn't guess, but he wondered if the delicate art of potion making was a little too slow for the manic child who, unless given math problems and a heaping pile of technology or a book, was unlikely to sit still for long periods of time. This potion making definitely called for long periods of sitting and waiting. Always a bad thing when Harry was involved.

"I don't know what you are doing, Harry, but stop it this instant! This potion is simple. How are you continually blowing it up? There should be no possible way for this particular series of ingredients to have an explosive effect!"

Harry grinned sheepishly at the irate teacher, before sliding the sonic into his pocket and, reluctantly, starting out making the potion again.

"Sorry. I guess...I don't know Salazar, honest." Jack could tell he was lying, Harry had that little half smile tugging at the corner of his mouth (and his lying skills were, quite frankly, terrible, seeing who he grew up with).

"Harry," Jack said warningly from the back corner, and Harry whirled in surprise. Jack looked pointedly at Harry's pocket, raising an eyebrow, and Harry's mouth fell open in a little oh of shock. He nervously turned back to the cauldron, stirring carefully, not even daring to go for the little sonic device now that he knew his uncle was watching him. Jack sat back in smug satisfaction. He might not rat on Harry to isi new teacher, but he was most definitely not going to sit here and watch Harry ruin another set of perfectly good utensils that Salazar (the handsome devil) was lending him.

Salazar hadn't missed the exchange and looked between Harry and Jack, brow furrowed. Jack smiled and shook his head. Salazar nodded. It seemed as if whatever the problem had been, it was over now. He could get an explanation later, whenever Jack made good on his promise for a drink.

"Alright Harry, only a few more steps left. As long as you don't mess this up, you should have a halfway decent potion." Harry's shoulders hunched in self-defense as he added the second to last ingredient and stirred the obligatory twelve left turned stirs and the six right turned stirs, before sitting back and crossing his arms.

He was bored. Potions took way too long to do anything! But he wasn't going to voice that to the man whose cauldrons he had blown up in an attempt to activate the reactions faster. And after uncle Jack caught him using the sonic, he couldn't even try that again. And he was so close too. Now he had to wait the proper amount of time (about halfway through a mark on a candle sitting beside him) before the potion could be completed. This was a bore.

"So, now that you have some free time before you have to complete the potion, why don't you list off the uses of a silver ladle in comparison to a copper one."

Harry perked up. He liked facts. But before he could even begin, the doors banged open and in marched his father and the kindly woman who had found them in the hallway, Helga. Harry waved.

"Hi dad! I'm making a potion! So long as this one doesn't blow up." The Doctor grinned, walking over and setting a hand on Harry's shoulder. "It's for replacing the red blood cells in the body after they've been depleted, though I'm not entirely sure how that works with the ingredients I used. How does ground Egyptian Beetle have anything to do with red blood cells?"

The Doctor laughed. "Ah, Harry, the wonders of magic. I'm sure you'll learn a lot more for the next week. It'll be about that long before the Tardis is going to let us back in."

Harry grinned. Jack punched the air delightedly, then sent a wink over towards Salazar, who responded with a smirk and an eyebrow raise.

Harry was handed over to Helga by an exasperated Salazar, pleased that Harry had finally made a decent potion but frustrated with the boy who had, somehow, managed to continually explode a potion that had never produced such a reaction. He set about cleaning up the room, careful to keep magic away from the potion supplies in concern for the state of the metal used. Any magic that came in contact with potion supplies ultimately tainted the potion itself, which could lead to rather disastrous results.

Jack stayed behind to help out, grinning at Salazar as he went about picking up after his wayward nephew. "So, Salazar, enjoy your first teaching session with Harry?" he asked.

Salazar sighed. "You were right, telling me about him. He is amazingly brilliant, but I don't believe he has the patience to sit still longer than the time it takes for him to finish reading the instructions. And I still don't know how he managed to produce such a reaction from that particular potion. I chose it specifically because it didn't explode, in fact any effects that might have occurred merely produced a telling odor and color." The man shook his head. "I just, he is a handful. Can you tell me what he was doing?" Salazar pinned Jack with a look that had made many a student tell him their wrongdoings, but Jack had been on the end of an angry Time Lord glare.

Jack grinned. "I could, but it wouldn't make much sense. Harry was basically using a device to cause a much quicker reaction within the po...cauldron" he hastily corrected himself. "Cauldron, but he hadn't managed to pinpoint the frequency he needed to use, so there was an adverse reaction." Jack could see the puzzled expression. "He focused something similar to an intense beam of fire at the cauldron to speed up the potion," he simplified.

Salazar's face morphed into one of exasperated understanding. "He has no patience at all, that boy. Though I don't know what you mean by frequency, if he was, as you say, trying to speed up the reaction by increasing the heat, there could, possibly, be such a explosion." Salazar sighed. "I'm going to have to think of a new way of teaching the boy. If he is so impatient he would be a far more detrimental student than a good one."

Jack nodded. "Good thing to do is to give him something to experiment with. Give him a list of ingredients and properties and their reactions to certain things and have him work through how a potion is made rather than giving him instructions. He enjoys fiddling with things, and if he can work it out on paper first before he starts playing with the dangerous toys, you won't be out of cauldrons in a weeks time."

Salazar frowned consideringly. "That...that is a novel way of approaching the problem. I shall give it some thought."

Jack clapped his hands, looking around the now clean room. "So, you up for that drink?"

Salazar smiled faintly. "You are a most unusual man, Jack." Jack smiled widely. "Alright then, we can go out to the local pub and you can tell me how you ended up an uncle to such a strange young boy."

"Maybe some of that story. I'd like to hear how you got into potions and why in all the stars you decided to build a castle way out here."

The two men walked through the door leading to the hallway, trading stories.  
~~~~~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~~  
Harry's laugh echoed through the stone halls as he followed Helga up and around various staircases. His father and Rose were with him, and he was telling them his experimentations in potions.

"And a sonic does not react well with potion ingredients. Apparently I blew up a particularly stable potion. Three times. Salazar was not impressed. Then Uncle Jack caught me and I had to put it away," Harry said.

His dad raised an eyebrow. "When did you get your hands on a sonic device? I was certain after the incident on Jalixa I confiscated yours."

Harry rubbed the back of his head. "Um, well, I mean, you don't hide things that well dad, and besides, that was ages ago. What if I needed it?"

"I bet you asked the Tardis where it was," Rose piped up.

Harry glared at her. "Oi, don't go telling dad all that! Then I'm gonna get in more trouble when he lectures her and I won't be able to find my room forever!" Rose laughed at him.

The Doctor frowned. "Well, for now you can keep it, but keep it in your pocket. Magic and sonic technology don't really go hand in hand, as you discovered in potions."

"If you three would hurry up, I would be able to evaluate young Harry on his various abilities in theory and his understanding. If, however, you would like to remain dawdling and chatting, we can do that instead." The Doctor blinked at the tone of voice, an exasperation he had heard in many mothers at an errant child.

Rose laughed. "She told us, huh?" Rose whispered to Harry, who nodded sagely.  
Helga ushered them into a classroom right at the top of another flight of stairs, waving Rose and the Doctor to the back of the room. Harry she sat in a chair at the front, moving another around to face him.

She stared at him a bit, then started. "So, Harry, what is magic?"

Harry blinked. "Magic? It's...it's...well, it's fundamental. It's part of the universe. Though not in the same way that one would think, not like gravity or inertia or quantum or temporal energy is. It's...it's like an undercurrent that reshapes parts of the universe. Maybe to remind people that things are always subject to spontaneous change?" Harry frowned, tapping his finger on his chin.

In the back, Rose stifled a laugh at the incredulous look on Helga's face. Beside her the Doctor sighed a small, amused laugh. "I wonder if we'll manage to get through this visit without something happening that no one is expecting," he muttered under his breath.

Rose turned wide eyes to him. "You really think Harry can stay out of trouble that long?"

"It's too much to hope for, huh?"

"Yeah, probably," she replied in an undertone.

Up front, Helga tried to make sense of the answer she was given. "Well, I was looking for 'I don't know' but I suppose that works too."

Harry tilted his head. "Well, magic is a kind of energy, just not one that acts by any of the normal universal principles."

"Yes, but it isn't something most people can explain. It is able to do some extraordinary things that don't seem possible."

"So it doesn't have any rules?" Everything had rules, Harry knew. Electricity, quantum physics, the basic building blocks of the universe. Everything. But he hadn't run into any specific rules of magic yet.

Helga furrowed a brow. "Well, I suppose one cannot create a food that has never been eaten by the witch or wizard," Helga postulated.

Harry sighed. "That is a limit of imagination, not a limit of magic. You can create matter from nothing, deconstruct it, cause emotional responses against the will of another person, turn one thing into another, there has to be a series of rules to keep such power in check. Otherwise the world would be unbalanced, in chaos."

"One is limited only by the strength of one's magic and your imagination. The only rules are those of society, there to limit the population to a manageable level. Though on the level of discord you seem to be speaking of, most people do not contain enough power to sufficiently alter their surroundings."

"But that doesn't dismiss those who can. I mean, you, Rowena, Godric, Salazar, each of you are powerful. What stops one of you from destroying a small town if you end up angry, or someone else who is as powerful?"

"That is what schooling and social morals are for."

"But that doesn't limit the personal magic user from using that power if they so choose. Magic has no natural rules, you say? Nothing that isn't personally limited by the strength of someone's magic or a lack of imagination."

"Well, to cast, one must know how to access power. Use it to cause the appropriate reaction."

Harry waved this away. "Imagination. I've never had schooling for magic before this but I've been able to create life-like recreations of various things in illusionary form since I was a child. If I thought about it, I could probably ask my magic to do what I wanted."

Helga sighed. "You, Harry, are an unusual case. Not everyone in the world, actually no one in the world, is quite like you, and your unprecedented access to your magic is unheard of. I will admit that Godric can do some feats of magic without a wand or words, but he is limited to a certain area, which I'm sure you could weasel out of him. For everyone else, we require a medium to communicate with our magic and direct it. In a pinch, and if we are really desperate, all four of us can do some amazing feats of wandless magic, but that is rare."

Harry tapped his bottom lip. "So you're saying that my ability to use magic limitlessly is actually an anomaly rather than the norm?"

"Yes, which is why the rules you see magic as needing isn't as pertinent with the majority of magic users at large."

"Because they can't use their magic in the same way?"

"Exactly. Magic is something primal, something a part of you. It appears as odd happenings in childhood as it forms into its mature state and, when it reaches a point of tipping, a child is ready to be schooled in its uses. Too early and the magic may stop growing altogether. Too late and it is too set in its ways. Most older users who are taught later in life tend to have some talent with simple wandless tricks, but they are paltry and they rarely reach a high level of proficiency in using magic. Those who start too young with a focus limit their magic's potential and are unable to perform certain kinds of magic. Which is why we tend to teach children just before they start changing into adults, between nine and twelve years, until they hit full adulthood, between sixteen and nineteen years old. "

Harry nodded in understanding. "So why are you teaching me? Aren't I too young?"

"Ordinarily, yes you would be, but I don't think anything we teach you could actually damage your magic, seeing how powerful and odd it is. And we won't teach you wand-based magic. Most of what we will teach you is practical and theory based magic. Rowena will probably talk to you about temporal spells, seeing as that is her current obsession, Godric will be teaching you defense and possibly some wandless spells, and Salazar is teaching you potions. I have theory and plant growth."

Harry considered this. "What about others? I know I'm a special case, but are there general limitations to the average person's ability to use magic?"

"Most people are limited by the strength of the are a range of skills almost all magic users can use, taught here when students aren't needed at home for the harvest. But spells of skill, those that affect the actual structure of the world, are beyond their ability. I believe, now that you ask, that magic itself knows it cannot be used limitlessly by everyone and restricts the amount of access it gives people. Spells of warding, healing, manipulation, and elemental magic are generally considered unlearnable by the general population. Some simpler warding and healing spells are general knowledge spells, but mostly it is charms and transfiguration that are most popular. And to do damage with them requires imagination."

Harry nodded. "So a limiting factor is imagination. Lacking an ability to think outside the standard parameters of a spell limits the user's ability to cast it for something other than what it already is."

Harry nodded. "So a limiting factor is imagination. Lacking an ability to think outside the standard parameters of a spell limits the user's ability to cast it for something other than what it already is."

"Exactly," Helga agreed. "If you cannot think creatively, you are limited in your options for magical uses. Such as a heating spell. Name five ways you would use a heating spell?"

Harry thought for a moment. "Well, it would be useful on clothing in cold weather, for causing mild burns or heating various inanimate objects to a point that could cause burns, for heating wood or something else flammable to cause a fire, for heating food, to create a localized area of warmth to allow plants to grow in colder areas, to melt ice into water or steam in order to cause a chain reaction in something else, to start a combustion reaction, to"

"Alright, alright, good. My point. That spell is originally taught to heat food. A particularly creative student might come up with clothing. I do particularly like the herbology application. I would have to see if that even works. But my point stands. Imagination allows one to do a lot more with a single spell than just the limitations of that spell." Helga raised an eyebrow.

Harry saw her point. It did make a lot more sense having thought about the example.

The next hour was filled with Harry and Helga exchanging different points of view on the uses of magic and limitations. Most of it was Harry trying to understand how people had limitations in the first place while Helga struggled with Harry's lack of limitations.

For Rose and the Doctor, it was an interesting meeting, as if two worlds had to come to an understanding about the alphabet when one viewed it as set and unchangeable and the other didn't understand how it never moved around when they wanted to make new words.

~~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~~  
The day after his initial meeting, after the four had been shown to an empty wing with a series of rooms branching off from a main seating area, Harry had taken off to explore.

He was thoroughly enjoying his time in the empty castle, the only inhabitants being his family and the four professors. It gave him ample time to explore, when he wasn't being dragged off to one lesson or other. He wouldn't mind, really, except that the castle was really cool and whenever he was in potions with Salazar he had to stand listening to his uncle made flirty remarks at the potions master. Not that Salazar ever responded with words, but Harry had been around his uncle long enough to realize the signs of an ongoing relationship of some sort, and he had to resist the urge to groan.

His dad had let him keep his sonic, but for how much longer Harry didn't know. He was prone to practical experimentation, which didn't exactly suit potions and their delicate balances well. Now though, Salazar had him doing something different. Rather than follow another recipe of some sort or other, Harry was studying the properties of each ingredient and their various reactions. It was fascinating. He enjoyed the challenge presented and was far more interested in seeing the outcome of various things. Sure, he didn't always get things right, but the mistakes were as helpful as the successes, more helpful in fact. While he was watched over by a carefully optimistic Salazar, Harry was allowed free reign to play with this or that and watch the reactions.

Helga was a different story. Harry had never gardened in his life and the most experience he had with growing plants was a carnivorous flower he had run into once and it had tried to eat him. He had managed to get out of that scrape, but he had been wary of things with petals and Helga's plants hadn't helped any. Harry did have to admit that she was really good at it though, and he made sure that, while he was keeping a careful distance, he did pay close attention to what he was doing.

He liked escaping the greenhouses with all his fingers intact.

Rowena was brilliant, Harry discovered very quickly, but she was also probably the most irritating person Harry had ever had the happenstance to meet. She didn't trust Harry, or any of his family, and he didn't think she liked him much either.

From Rowena's side, she could see the brilliance that was this strange child, but that didn't excuse the fact that she knew nothing about him, him or his father, uncle and the other girl with the honey colored hair. Rowena hadn't bothered to learn their names after their first encounter in the office. If she couldn't get answers from them, what was the point. So when it came to her turn to teach the strange child, she had already heard the glowing praise from Helga and had seen Salazar's satisfaction. She decided that the little boy needed to be brought down a notch. Young children couldn't get it into their heads that they were quite so smart so young.

So when Harry walked into her chambers, a large stone table greeted him under harsh lighting courtesy of Rowena's use of amplifying spells on the windows. He walked in cautiously.

"Hello," he said, hesitence in his voice.

"I may not have had much say in taking you as a pupil for the duration of your stay, young one, but be sure that I will expect nothing but the best, considering what I have heard from my colleagues. I specialize in experiment magics of all kinds, runes, and the advancement of the study of temporal enchantments."

Harry grinned. "Helga told me. She said I would particularly enjoy your lessons. Seeing as temporality is a specialty of mine, I can see why."

Rowena raised an imperious eyebrow. "Is that so? How can one so young understand something as vast as time?"

Harry scratched his head. "Well, you can say I have a special connection to it. A kind of kinship."

Rowena harrumphed. She crossed her arms, disbelief written on her face. "Is that so? I have heard that you don't even know how to tell time in a conventional sense. Hours, days, weeks, months and so on. How can one understand time without understanding the units used to measure it?"

Harry waved a hand. "Time isn't a series of units. That's what humans use to measure it so they can feel better about something they don't understand. Stuff like months and minutes aren't really intrinsic to time itself, but rather how a mind can understand a concept that, in reality, has no physical substance but which exists in an ebb and flow all around." He paused, tapping his chin speculatively. "Though from what I understand talking to Helga about magical theory, magic should be able to tap into that temporal river and access the fundamental particles. There shouldn't be anything besides the power of the imagination and the strength of one's magic stopping you."

Rowena froze for a moment. "You...you are speaking of an actual theory to altering time," she proclaimed. Harry nodded, eyeing the table speculatively. "That's impossible. One can only affect the forward progression of time. There is no manipulation."

Harry shook his head. "No, time doesn't work like that. You only see time as a linear progression of cause and effect because that's the only way your mind is designed to process it. There are a people who only view time in the present. They have no concept of past or future. Very strange race, very strange use of tenses. It's impossible to tell them that they are being manipulated to do something dangerous because they don't understand the concept of a future or a past. The only thing that exists is the now." Harry shook his head. "I never did manage to get them to tell me their philosophy. Too easily distracted." Harry sighed. "And there are beings who don't exist in time at all. They are above it, eternal but singular. They don't age or changed because they cannot process time and time cannot affect them. Also very strange people."

Rowena stared at the small boy. He was speaking of impossible things. Nothing in the magical world even came close to existing as the boy was describing yet there was no doubt that he spoke the truth. It was unbelievable. Such a person would never be able to function properly.

"Is there any way you can prove this theory, this alteration of time?"

Harry looked up at Rowena, eyes bright in excitement. "Oh, yes there is. There most certainly is. I just have to figure out how to make sure you can see it too." Harry reached out a hand, a gesture for Rowena to give him hers. Rowena hesitated. "Do you want to see or not? I don't know exactly how to do this, but it can't be that difficult. I know what I'm looking for, in any case, so that's not the problem."

Rowena waited just a moment longer, but her curiosity got the better of her. She reached out and took Harry's hand, wondering how she went from teaching the boy a lesson to being taught.

"What are you going to do?" she asked curiously.

Harry grinned at her. "I'm going to show you the time vortex," he said cheerily.

Rowena blinked. "You're joking."

"Nope. Hold on, I don't want to lose you. It takes a lot of concentration, so don't interrupt me." Harry closed his eyes, then he frowned. "Alright, I'm going to do something and it might be a bit uncomfortable for you. just a second." Harry scrambled at his neck, revealing a heavy golden chain Rowena remembered from the office a few days before. She wanted to ask about it again, but as his hands unclasped it, Rowena felt herself suddenly submerged in a strange magic. She gasped in astonishment. "I'm sorry. It' a restricting cord. I will try to stay out of your emotions, I promise, but I'm still not that good at controlling my own power, so it'll feel a bit odd."

Rowena looked at Harry in alarm. "Emotions? You sense emotions?"

Harry nodded, a strained look on his face. "Yeah, but it wasn't a pleasant experience, having it done to me. It's what cause the imbalance in my magical core. But I need you to be touching my magic for me to do this, so you'll have to bear with me."

Rowena nodded and Harry closed his eyes. He reached out for that distant connection to the Tardis he knew by heart and felt her reaching back for him, concerned. He showed her his request, and the Tardis frowned at him. His unique connection with the Tardis turned into what might be called a conversation.

What are you doing?she projected.

Harry sighed. I'm trying to teach Rowena something about time, but I can't access the vortex on my own. I just need a tiny little bit, just enough to show her what I mean.

it's dangerous and ill advised. the Tardis replied, showing Harry his last experiment with Temporal energy. Harry sighed in exasperation.

I won't be manipulating it, I just want to make someone else understand that Time isn't linear. That it flows and is malleable.

Be careful my child. I do not want you to be gone.

I will. Thank you.

Through the magic-heavy air, Harry felt the Tardis slipping through a tiny speck of her consciousness, showing Harry the fragile cords the held the universe in place and which ones touched the time vortex. Harry smiled.

"Ready Rowena?" he asked.

Rowena's eyes were wide, not sure if she should be excited or scared, but she nodded. Harry grinned all the wider.

"Alright. I'm going to unravel a tiny portion of the temporal schema. Hold tight and don't touch anything."

Rowena nodded resolutely. Harry looked her over once more, before he reaching out a hand, fingers twisting in the air, and all of a sudden, instead of more stone flooring, Rowena was looking at a swirl of golden energy filling the room. It wasn't magic, she knew that. But what it was...the golden curls brushed everything, twining around and swirling through the room. Being let onto the physical plain was not a usual occurrence, and the vortex energy was as curious as a cat.

Rowena gazed around in fascination. "Is this...temporal energy?" she asked hesitantly.

Harry nodded, hand holding tight onto hers. She understood, somehow, that the only reason she could see what she saw was because Harry was transmitting some kind of magic over her and allowing her vision to pick up on the golden beams of swirling energy.

"Yeah, it's tiny threads from the vortex. Inside the vortex it twines just like this, around itself, overlapping and curling and swirling. On the physical plain, it tries to interact with things, but this small amount shouldn't really do anything. In large amounts it can transform the surroundings backwards or forwards, or when it comes in direct contact with a sentient being. Then it can act on their desires, or its own. It depends on how much energy there is."

"And you say this energy is everywhere?"

Harry nodded. "It usually doesn't have a physical presence on this plane, but by untying a small part of the temporal schema, small wisps can escape for a short while, though as soon as I close it again, without the vortex to keep them powered, they will fade back to their origin."

Rowena watched the small golden swirls dart around the room. It was absolutely astonishing, and she reaching out to touch one as it darted closer.

Harry caught her movement out of the corner of his eye and immediately tried to stop her. "Rowena, you can't touch it..."

Harry was too late on the warning, and, as Rowena glanced down at him, possibly to reassure him of her safety, her eyes widened in astonishment as she, suddenly, shrunk, her hand still touching the golden swirl. Harry watched with rapidly panicking emotions as one of the legendary founders grew smaller and, Harry noticed, younger, until she was a toddler wrapped in swathes of her dress. Her hand was still in his, though Harry had to bend down to keep it. He couldn't afford to let go right now.

He wondered how much trouble he would get into for this.

~~~~~This is an Ending~~~~~

To be continued. Yes, I know, I don't do a lot of these. But part of my New Year's goal (the only one I've been sticking to, really) is to write everyday. And I have. I have most, if not all, of the next chapter done. And I am working on the one following that. So no worries! A wonderful website, , is an amazing place to write. So easy.

And, now to all those awesome, amazing people who review and to whom I cannot reply to due to various issues, such as anonymous reviews which I always love getting, to those who have their PM turned off, thank you thank you so much!


	14. In Which a Mistake Causes Happenings

Hey guys! New chapter! Hope you like the bit of a twist at the end ^_^ Enjoy!

~~~~~~This is a Beginning~~~~~~

He looked around, hoping his dad, Rose or uncle Jack were around, but unfortunately he was alone. Which was why he had gotten away with doing this in the first place, he realized. If he had been followed, he wouldn't have been allowed to try. He wondered why he had been unaccompanied, then realized he hadn't really let anyone know where he was going.

"It's okay Rowena, we'll find a way to fix this. I'm sure dad will know what to do." He went to pick up the now possible two year old, but noticed the energy still floating around the room. He had to close the schema. Hurriedly he tied up the loose bits he had freed and fumbled with his necklace before scooping the little girl up and running out the door. Rowena held on.

Harry didn't know if she remembered anything or if she was mentally two years old as well, but in any case, he was in big trouble. His dad would never let him forget it. Uncle Jack would let him know for years. And that was if he managed to correct the problem.

He didn't have far to run before he bumped into someone.

"Woah there Harry, what's going on? What's with the baby?"

Oh just his luck, it was uncle Jack. Harry looked up, panic in his eyes, and his uncle caught the look. "Dad. I need to find Dad. Please. It's an emergency."

"What's wrong?"

"I...erm..I was, I was showing something to Rowena when I, er, I, um..." Harry looked down at the de-aged Rowena.

Jack looked mildly confused until, as Harry danced on his toes, he caught on. Then he started laughed. "Oh, this is priceless! You managed to..." Jack couldn't finish.

Harry glared at him. "Will you help me or not?" Harry asked irritably.

Jack wiped his eyes. "It is never boring when you're around. Alright, give me the little on. You're not that much bigger than her now, don't want you dropping her too."

Harry frowned, but could see the logic in the argument. He reluctantly handed over little Rowena, and Jack took the child, who was dressed in what was probably an undershirt. The blue eyed child glared at Jack but allowed him to pick her up. "Be careful," Harry warned. "I don't know exactly what happened. Don't do anything else to her."

Jack nodded. "It's not like I have magic, and I'm far more used to carrying children than you are, little Harry. Alright, let's go find your dad. I'm sure he's going to love hearing about this one."

Harry groaned. "I'm going to be in so much trouble."

"Why? Wasn't it just a bit of accidental magic?" Harry shook his head. Jack's eyes widened. "What did you do?" Harry just slumped further towards the ground. Jack sighed. "Harry, when will you learn to stop messing with things you shouldn't be messing with?"

"I told her not to touch anything. I told her, and what did she do, she went and touched." Harry groaned. "I am in so much trouble."

"Trouble from your dad might be the least of your worries. There's Helga now." Harry looked up in shock, and saw that his uncle was right. He groaned. "It's okay. I'm sure she'll find it amusing."

"That's what I'm worried about. After this, Rowena's going to kill me."

It didn't take long for Helga to reach them and she looked at the trio in puzzlement. "Where did the child come from? We don't have any other children at Hogwarts right now, especially none as young as her."

Harry groaned and Jack laughed. "Technically you already know her. She just looks...a bit different right now." Jack nudged Harry, who refused to look anywhere but the ground.

"I don't understand."

"It seems that, during some kind of experiment, Harry here managed to turn Rowena into a child. About two years old, I would guess."

Helga's eyes widened. "Impossible. That kind of effect is physically impossible."

"Oh I'm sure Harry here has a reason for why it is, suddenly, possible."

Helga looked at Harry. "Yes, young Harry? Is there something you would like to say?"

Harry shook his head. "Not until I see dad. I want to make sure that she can be turned back."

Helga blinked in astonishment."I didn't even think of that. Alright, let's go find the Doctor. Last I saw he was talking with Godric near the main hall.

Harry was in full panic mode as he rushed to find his father. Helga was torn between amusement at her colleague and friend's predicament and worry. She didn't know what had happened and seeing young Harry in such a state didn't engender any confidence in the outcome.

Jack happily bounced the toddler on his hip. "Hello there little Rowena. You are adorable, yes you are!" He couldn't be sure if the toddler was just confused at all the commotion or had kept her adult faculties and was furious at him. Well, he would certainly find out when she was her normal, proper age and could yell at him. For now, he would enjoy the small child. It had been quite a while since he had held a little one, mostly cause Harry was keen on being independent and that meant no one could hold him.

But it was still amusing, he contemplated, watching the brilliant, independent, strong-willed child run around in a panic searching for his father.

"Dad! Dad! Where are you? Dad!" Harry knew that yelling would probably not get him where he needed to go but right now, he couldn't think of anything else to do. It was just his misfortune that Salazar, the indomitable potions master and keen eyed observer looked curiously out of a nearby doorway.

"Harry, what is going on? What happened?"

"Have you seen my dad?" Harry rushed, hoping to try and get through the encounter without having to explain his mistake again.

Salazar frowned. "This morning, but that was several hours ago. He might be with Godric, hopefully not anywhere near my rooms. What is the panic about?"

Harry groaned. "I need my dad!" and he rushed off again. Salazar looked behind him where Helga and Jack trailed the young boy.

"What's going on?"

Jack laughed. "Well, you wanna say hi to Harry's big problem? Only, she's not so big right now." Jack nodded to the small child in his arms, and Salazar's eyes narrowed.

"Is that who I think it is?"

"If you think it's Rowena than totally. Otherwise, no. No, not at all."

Salazar sighed. "What happened? I wasn't aware this could even be possible."

Helga nodded. "My thoughts too, but apparently Harry can do the impossible. And he doesn't know how to fix it."

"Do we know if she is still her age mentally?"

"No, unfortunately. She hasn't spoken and I wouldn't trust myself using any sort of mind art on such a young child. If she is mentally her physical age, it could do serious damage."

Salazar glanced down the hall where Harry had ran off yelling for his dad. "Want to follow the little troublemaker then?"

Jack grinned. "I wouldn't miss the look on the Doctor's face when he hears about this for anything in the universe."

The trio set off after Harry, conversing about the possible origins of this mistake.

Harry, meanwhile, was rushing towards the main entrance, hoping that his dad was, as Helga had mentioned, outside with Godric, otherwise he wouldn't know where else to look.

As he skidded out the door and down the stairs, he met a tall, human shaped figure with his face. An 'OOMPH' of exhaled air greeted his sudden arrival in a shared space and Harry looked up.

"DAD! Oh, I'm so glad I found you! I need your help!"

"Harry?" Harry looked around at the second voice. Godric stood not to far away, at the bottom of the stairs, next to Rose. Harry groaned. Just his luck, everyone would be witness to his humiliating mistake.

"Hi Godric, Rose. Dad, I need help."

The Doctor looked at his son, surprise and amusement covering his face. "Really now? What did you manage to get into this time?"

Harry gulped. "Um, well..."

"Doctor! I see he found you! Do you want to say hi to our wonderful little addition to the castle? Well, addition is a bit of a lie. She lives here, but, well, I'll let you see for yourself." Harry turned his head slowly around as Jack, Helga and Salazar appeared in the entranceway. Horror covered his face.

"Where did a child come from?" Godric asked in the sudden silence. "I wasn't aware of any children within Hogwarts, aside from Harry here."

Harry paled as his father's hand touched his shoulder.

"Oh, she's absolutely adorable!" Rose squealed, reaching out for the little girl. Jack let Rose hold her. "Such blue eyes! They look exactly lik..." Rose trailed off, turning to look at Harry. "Oh, you didn't. You did...you actually!"

"Um, well...I, er...she didn't listen to me!"

The hand on his shoulder gently forced him to turn around, and his pale, scarred face was on level with his dad's carefully blank expression. "Would you care to tell us exactly what happened then Harry?"

Harry fidgeted. "Um, well, we were discussing temporal theories and how magic could access them, and, well, I wanted to show her it, but I told her not to touch anything, but she didn't listen!"

"That doesn't tell me what you did."

"Is that Rowena?" Godric gasped, approaching the child now settled in Rose's arms. "It looks exactly like a little Rowena!"

"You've finally caught up to the rest of us Godric. Now, if you would kindly shut up, Harry was telling us exactly what he did to transform Rowena into a child."

Godric grinned. "It's a little Rowena!" he exclaimed, poking her soft cheek gently. A tiny hand batted at the finger.

"Harry, I would like to hear what you did."

Harry tried to look anywhere but his dad, but it wasn't quite possible. Finally, after a few moments silence, he sighed. "I, well, I unwove a small portion of the matrix between the physical plane and the time vortex. Just a small one! And I closed it as soon as Rowena changed!" Harry hastily tacked on at the end as his dad's eyes widened in shock.

"You did what? How did you managed to unweave the boundary between the two plains? It's..it's not possible! There should be no way for the two planes to ever physically touch! You might have...Oh Harry. What have I told you about messing with temporal experiments?"

Harry dropped his head. "Not without prior permission and approval of a written plan, preferably not at all," Harry repeated. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at him, a silent question as to why he had ignored him. "I...she...I just wanted to show her..." Harry trailed off. The Doctor sighed.

"Well, we have a mess to clean up."

~~~~This is a Perspective Break~~~~~

Rowena wasn't entirely sure what had happened to her. One moment she was reaching out to touch the curiously beautiful golden swirl, Harry's warning momentarily forgotten, and the next the world had grown around her. Everything was big, confusing, and noisy. Harry was a giant and the golden swirls quickly disappeared. She wanted to cry (which was odd, she hadn't cried since she was a child) or yell or something to tell Harry that she was upset. The expression of panic on the boy's face halted her before she let out a wail.

Why was he so worried? What had happened?

Rowena was slowly losing grasp of herself, her adult self, as her mentality shifted to match the body she now inhabited. Her final thought before she lost self-awareness was 'I'm a toddler...Godric's never going to let this go.' then her adult mind faded to the background and was replaced by the urges that drove any two year old; food, sleep, and brightly colored objects.

~~~~End Perspective Shift~~~~

The Doctor stared at his son, his impossible child who did things that shouldn't even be thought of much less accomplished. His child who not only unraveled a fragment of time but allowed the entity to touch a physical, sentient being. He groaned.

"Alright, show me where you did this. I might be able to salvage a small amount of the temporal energy without having to use the Tardis and restore Rowena to her rightful form."

"Do we have to? She's so adorable like this," Godric said, waving a finger in the direction of his colleague's face. Rowena batted at it, only encouraging the playful man rather than dissuading him.

"Rowena is going to hex him for a year when she's fixed if he keeps this up," Salazar muttered. Jack laughed. "I'm gonna enjoy that immensely."

"You two have an intense rivalry going on. What started it, if I may ask?"

Salazar smiled slightly "We've known each other for many many years. HE had always felt entitled to the same things I had, and usually when we were younger, it wouldn't matter so much. But that changed when we got the idea to build the castle." Salazar tapped a finger on his chin. "When we were building Hogwarts, we were each allowed to make modifications in specific parts to suit our needs. I have a growing snakelet, a basilisk, and needed somewhere to keep her safe. Godric felt that, since I had a dangerous magical creature he should as well, except he forgot how terrible he is with animals and, in his attempt to catch a chimera ended up seriously wounded. So he figured that if he couldn't get his own, he would take my precious Salina. He was lucky he only ended up petrified. Salina was still young and can't yet kill with her gaze. But it was a valuable lesson in personal property. I think I'm more amused than irritated with him, though he is irritating, don't ever doubt that." Salazar paused. "But I don't think he ever forgot that incident. But he's always been fun to antagonize."

Jack listened with amusement. "A basilisk? What's that?"

Salazar shot him a sideways glance of surprise, then sighed. "I keep forgetting you're non-magical. A basilisk is the offspring of a chicken's egg hatched under a toad. While I don't know who had that bright idea in the first place, they are extraordinary creatures. Only those who can speak to snakes are ever really safe, and even that safety is tenuous. I am safe because I raised her, as well as my ability to speak to snakes."

"So you can hiss at the little beasts and understand them?" Jack clarified. Salazar nodded. "Good. You can teach Harry then. He starts hissing sometimes at the garden snake, except I think the snake gets angry at him for messing up. Dunno. But it is amusing to watch a snake chase a kid around instead of the opposite."

Salazar stopped dead in his tracks by the stairs leading up to Rowena's rooms. "Harry...can talk to snakes?"

"Yep. And when he gets really upset, he'll start hissing at us and then dissolves into a single, steady 'ssssssss' sound. Unfortunately it ruins the whole upset thing." Jack nodded thoughtfully. "I try not to laugh though, but it is hard."

"He can talk to snakes, to inanimate objects, he can do strange things with time and he blows up potions. What kind of impossible child is he?"

"If I had a gold coin for every time I heard that, I would never need to do any honest work again." Jack stretched his arms out above him. "He was raised by the Doctor, has access to an immense amount of knowledge and the freedom to experiment almost as he pleases, and a very indulgent father. Even this screw up, when it gets fixed, will probably not amount to more than a few hundred pages worth of reading and a few pages of theory and equations for how he could have done it better or how he could have avoided the problem all together. It's less of a punishment and more of a learning experience."

Salazar processed this bit of information. He hadn't thought of it that way before, not really. A mistake was a mistake and it needed to be corrected. If it was a dangerous mistake, the person committing it had to make up for his or her mistake through some sort of punishment, but this seemed far more logical. Why have a student who continually fails a potion in class, sometimes in a dangerous way, be assigned detention constantly? Wouldn't it be better for that mistake to be made into a lesson of some sort? "Hm..."

"I know that face. That's the 'Oh, wow, that's a really good idea. Maybe I should try that' Face." Salazar glared at him, though it was without any heat. Jack laughed. "Good to know the Doctor affects people who aren't even near him like that."

Jack looked around when they came to a landing, having lost sight of the group, and Salazar pointed up the right staircase. He grinned.

Harry led his dad up the stairs towards Rowena's rooms, acutely aware of the glaring silence coming from his father. Farther back he could hear the chatter of Rose, Godric and Helga as they spoke about the miniaturized Rowena, and even farther back were uncle Jack and Salazar (no doubt flirting, Harry thought sourly). But the two leading the group were quiet. Harry walked up the steps pondering the ramifications of his experimentation and how much trouble he was going to get into. The Doctor wondered just how he was going to keep his unruly son from blowing up the universe. It didn't seem like it was going to be an easy task.

The door Harry had run out of with Rowena was still open and he walked in, letting his father go ahead of him. Rose, Jack, and the Hogwarts founders remained outside the room.

"So, where was this rift you managed to open up?" the Doctor asked.

Harry glanced around for the spot, then pointed. "There. Just about. I can still sort of feel it. I must not have completely closed it, I was in a hurry."

The Doctor sighed. "Alright, how exactly did you manage this?"

Harry shifted on his feet. "Well, I knew I couldn't really do it on my own, so I took my necklace off..." he stopped as his father's face flickered into mild shock before continuing. "I had to be able to allow Rowena into the field I needed to use and I had to contact the Tardis, both things I couldn't do with it on."

"You asked the Tardis. Of course. And because you're Harry, she lets you get away with just about anything you want to do. Brilliant." The Doctor ran his hands through his hair before pulling a face. "Alright, continue."

"The Tardis showed me where the connection was and how to untie the schema holding it together, but I had to use my magic to touch the threads. I didn't open it too far, and I told Rowena not to touch anything. The temporal energy was so small it couldn't affect anything non-sentient, so I didn't think it would be a problem, and she was being deliberately harsh. So I wanted to show her something interesting. But she didn't listen and reached out to touch one of the fragments of temporal energy. Then she...shrunk. That's the best word for it, in any case."

The Doctor sighed and looked at his child. Brilliant but boneheaded. Stubborn and contrite. Why anyone thought giving such a child access to a power like magic was a wonderful idea maybe hadn't thought the consequences through quite so well. But in any case, they didn't have time to decide how badly Harry had messed up just yet. They needed to put his mistake right, otherwise Rowena would be growing up all over again, and who knows what effect that could have. He was sure the adult portion of her mind was still there, just hidden from her with a clever bit of magic that her own body produced to save her from herself. A young child's mind can't cope with the extreme power of an adult brain. They were too fragile, still making connections. Having a flood of connections would end up hurting the mental matrix.

"So, can you fix this?" Helga asked from the door.

The Doctor looked over. "Probably, yeah. I just need some kind of conduit. Since we can't let Harry meddle with the small rift again, I need some kind of temporal energy already on this plane to use as a catalyst for the vortex and to allow Rowena to return to her natural state. Unfortunately, I don't know where that might be."

The group was silent for a moment, then Jack raised his hand. The Doctor raised a pointed eyebrow, and Jack smiled cheerfully. "Just checking. I might have what you're looking for."

"Really. Where would you get a hold of physical temporal energy?"

"Remember the incident with time crystallizing when you brought Rose back?" The Doctor nodded. "Well, Rose was still holding onto a shard when you sealed the hole back up, and I might have taken it from her when you all dropped unconscious." Jack smiled, no hint of guilt in his voice.

"You couldn't have known what it would have done to you!" the Doctor exclaimed.

Jack shrugged. "Well, it wasn't like it was going to kill me, now was it?"

"It could have erased your own timeline!"

"But that didn't happen."

"Uh, guys? Guys? DOCTOR! JACK!" The two bickering men turned to look at Rose, who had interrupted. "Alright, now does someone want to tell me what exactly a time crystal is and why did I still have one?"

The Doctor shifted back on his heels. "A time crystal isn't something that happens naturally, except in very rare places. There used to be a cave on Gallifrey that had them, but it's long gone. They are captured pieces of time that have been preserved in a shell of psychic energy to protect the temporal stability of the fragment inside. Touching them is usually safe, though because of the circumstances by which they appeared, they were inherently unstable. I would take a guess that you were able to hold onto one after the cracks were healed because of your connection to Bad Wolf."

Rose nodded thoughtfully. "And you can use this crystal to do what exactly? How does it allow any kind of transfer of energy between Rowena, a sentient being, and the temporal vortex?"

"Because it was originally part of the vortex, the crystal holds properties that attract temporal energy. I can use it as a funnel of sorts to restore the proper temporal standing of Rowena without having to reopen the rift." Here the Doctor turned to look at Harry. "A rift that will never fully close." Harry looked back at his dad for a few moments, then looked at the ground, sighing. Of course he would cause this kind of situation.

"Did you follow any of that?" Godric whispered to Salazar and Helga. They both shook their heads.

"I have a feeling that Harry isn't the only extraordinary one in this group," Helga said softly.

"I concur. Jack is a most unusual person. He looks young, but his eyes, actions and voice tell me he is very very old." Salazar gazed at the man who was laughing and bantering with the Doctor and Rose.

"And Rose as well. I still can't quite figure out the Doctor. There is something odd about him, something that doesn't sit quite right," Helga murmured.

"That might be because he is surrounded by some kind of golden glow. It's the same glow that lingers on Rowena, so I would assume it is this temporal energy they speak of, Though why he is so thoroughly covered in it I cannot guess. It is an odd sensation though," Godric stated.

"Alright, that crystal might work, but unfortunately the Tardis isn't going to let us in, especially now right after this little adventure of yours, Harry. So we'll have to wait." The Doctor ran a hand through his hair. "And no, I don't know how long. She's still not letting the key work, so it might be a while."

Harry looked at the ground. Of course he would be the one to cause this trouble. This was going to be a brilliant day, he could just tell. He sighed.

"Doctor, will Rowena be okay?" Rose asked, bouncing the toddler gently.

The Doctor looked at the little girl. "I can hope so. Her adult mind is still there, I'm sure, but unless it is released, either by her return to her adult form or, in the worst case scenario as she grows up again, it will remain locked away. Her mental state will match her physical state to keep homeostasis between body and mind. Her magic will behave as expected for a toddler with an above average strength but lacking the wild impossibility that is Harry. So, probably a few accidental episodes here and there."

"So you're saying that Rowena will remain as she is until you can get into your Tardis to fix her?" Helga asked. "And she won't be harmed by this state?"

The Doctor nodded. "As far as I can understand of what Harry did, the effects are merely temporal in nature. He reversed her personal timeline, or rather he allowed it to be reversed by not minding his actions. But it didn't harm her in so much as it just changed her. Everything that makes Rowena who she is is still there, her timeline is still intact, it's just been...altered."

Salazar nodded thoughtfully. "So what you are saying is that she is still Rowena, just on a different point in her timeline. Her future is still there, the future that we know her from. Would there be any reason why we can remember her as an adult if she has been returned to an earlier point in her timeline? Shouldn't our knowledge of her vanish?"

The Doctor smiled. "No, but an excellent question. Since it was only Rowena's timeline that was altered, it couldn't affect those she knew. Everyone who knew her still remembers her as she met them. It is only her persona, physical and mental being that was changed. Her actions have not vanished, there wasn't enough temporal energy to do something like that." Here the Doctor sent a look at Harry, who carefully avoided looking at his father.

"Alright. Do you know how long this will take? I am enjoying the little Raven without her sharp beak but there are things that need to be done, and she is necessary," Godric said, ruffling Rowena's hair. Rowena batted at his hand again, then yawned.

Rose cooed at her. "Aw, sleepy little one. It's alright, go to sleep." She rocked the child as Rowena slowly nodded off, much to the amusement of Godric, Helga and Salazar. Rose hummed softly under her breath, a tune she used to hum to her niece when she had been a child.

The Doctor stared at Rose with the little one, smiling softly. Rose really was a wonderful person, would make a great mother. Harry adored her. He wondered though, if it was even possible...he shook his head. He could examine that thought later, after he had helped his wayward son fix this wonderfully colossal mistake.

"So, for now we just need to take care of her until I can get into the Tardis. Then we can work on getting her back to normal. Harry, I need to talk to you."

Harry gulped. He had been waiting for that exact tone of voice to pierce his ears. He hung his head and dutifully followed his father out the door and down the stairs. It had taken long enough.

"How much trouble is Harry in?" Helga asked Rose softly.

Rose smiled. "Oh, far less than he thinks, but don't let him know. It does him good to think that he screwed up big time, especially when the results of his particular mistake are as dramatic as this. Still, it's not nearly as exciting as the time he got stuck in a Time Shift and ended up flickering back and forth through the Tardis's timeline."

Jack looked over at Rose with wide eyes. "Hey, I never heard about that! What happened?"

Rose's grin grew. "Oh, this is a good one. Let me find a place for this little one to sleep and then I'll tell it to you. The trouble Harry got into then is legendary. He was stuck doing basic maths for months."

~~~~~~~~~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Not only did Hogwarts now have two child-age residents, one of them was a founder. Rowena would be stuck as a child until the Tardis got over her sulk and let them back inside. How long that would be, the Doctor couldn't guess, and he wouldn't let Harry ask her either, not after the incident with the Temporal Energy that started this minor catastrophe. Harry was now in lessons with his dad, relearning the basics of temporal energy and how one could properly interact with it. Harry's high handed dealings with Time in his recent past had been turbulent enough that the Doctor wanted to make sure his son had a good grounding in all things Time.

Rowena, for her part, didn't seem to mind being two. Then again, being two also came with the perk of napping whenever she wanted, being fed whenever she demanded, and having an endless group of playmates to cater to her every whim.

Helga had attempted to take charge of her friend, but Rowena refused to leave Rose's arms for the first few days, not that Rose didn't try. She did, but Rowena wasn't budging. Godric privately wondered if it had to do with the golden halo that surrounded her and Rowena was instinctively holding onto it, since it seemed so familiar in an unfamiliar world.

One thing did hold true for child Rowena as it did for Adult Rowena. Godric's childish actions were just as irritating. In fact, Godric was one of the only ones excused for Rowena watching duty because she would scream incoherently at him whenever he got close. So Godric had taken to watching the Doctor and Harry's lessons in temporal energy. Most of what he heard he couldn't understand, but that wasn't why he was sitting in the library with the impossible man and his equally impossible son. They glowed so brightly, so strongly, that it had taken Godric a few minutes of adjustment after they had followed Helga into the office to even see clearly again. He had taken to filtering his vision while they were here, so as to not send himself crashing into an unseen wall.

Godric had a talent for seeing magic. No one could explain why, most certainly not Godric himself, but it gave him a unique advantage when it came to spell casting. He didn't need a wand for most things, and when he used any wand but the one he made himself, a wondrous mix of disasters would befell anyone in a fifty meter radius. Last time Godric had tried out one of his colleague's wands, the beginning foundations of the castle they were constructing was lifted up into the sky and sent crashing back to earth, sinking fifty feet into the ground and leaving a wake of earth and muck in their wake. No one had tried to give him another wand since.

Godric was also a spell crafter, of sorts. He could do what he wanted, within reason, with his magic, but he had yet to make it so other people could use it as well.

Sitting and watching Harry and the Doctor almost blinded Godric with the amount of energy, but he slowly let his magic filter out the bright wave of light they emitted. On the move, their energy would settle closer to their body, as if preparing for something. Now that they were stable, unmoving and sedentary, their energies sprang out, reaching, feeling, touching.

He wondered if they were even aware of what it was doing. Harry's energy tended towards a brilliant swirl of color, light, and motion that hurled about him at immense speeds The Doctor's was golden, a glow that radiated out and touched everything gently, caressing, a bunch of brilliant golden curls that twined and twisted around their human..

Godric had been immediately fascinated when they had walked into the office behind Helga. He had been used to seeing vibrant colors swirling around various people. Rowena's was a brilliant silver shot through with black and blues. Salazar's simmered a soft pink and yellow, swirling around his frame. Helga was the color of the growing things she loved so much, many hues of green. Godric himself had found red and purple around his body when he stared at a clear, still lake.

But these strangers that had shown up were curious and strange. The child, the only magical among the four, glowed a hundred different colors and as bright as a sun. His father outshone the sun in gold intensity. Jack, Salazar's new friend, shimmered a soft silver twined with golden thread and Rose seemed to glow from within some unknowable hue that manifested outside her body as those same golden curls that framed the Doctor and now little Rowena.

Godric had finally gotten his chance to work with Harry. After two days of watching Harry sit through lecture after example after problem after discussion, Godric finally was able to get the tyke on his own (well, sort of. Rose in all her golden glow sat in the corner, flipping through a book). He was supposed to be working with Harry after Rowena, that afternoon, but due to circumstances, Harry was relegated to lecture time with his father instead.

Rowena herself was still child-sized and probably enjoying time with Jack and Salazar. For now though, he was glad Harry now stood in front of him.

"So, Harry," he started.

Harry interrupted him. "Salazar said you know wandless magic."

Godric smiled. "I do indeed. It's a talent of mine. In fact, I can't actually use any wand other than one I made for myself years and years ago. It's easier for me to use magic wandlessly than with a wand, though I don't know why."

Harry smiled. "Can you show me something?"

Godric considered it for a moment, then remembering the haphazard results that had occurred whenever Harry had managed to get his way before, blowing up several cauldrons and miniaturizing one of his colleagues, he decided against it for now. He could see Rose's appraising look from the back couch.

"No, not right now. First I want to work on your defense skills, sharpen your body and sharpen your mind. Maybe help you gain some control over that magic you have, without that strange necklace you wear."

Harry's hand flew to his neck. "You know what it's for?" he said, astonished.

Godric nodded. "I can tell that it ties your power inside your body, though I don't know how or why. It's a fascinating piece of jewelry in any case."

Harry smiled, letting the necklace go after a final squeeze. Then he looked up at Godric. "So, defense. What does that entail?"

Godric smiled. "Oh, this will be fun, young Harry."

~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~  
Salazar and Jack were walking the lake's perimeter, Rowena snuggled into Jack's arms, sleeping with the carelessness of the young and unconcerned. Jack smiled at the little girl.

So small like this, she didn't seem much like the imperious and willful young woman he had first seen. Here she was carefree, amused at the world, and innocent.

It had been far too long since he had held such a young one, it reminded him of his own children, long gone and dead in his timeline.

Salazar caught the edge of sadness in Jack's smile. "What's bothering you? Rowena will be back to normal soon enough, probably embarrassed and furious. No harm done. And when she's finally over her sulk, she'll probably have a lot of interesting ideas to work with."

Jack stopped abruptly, staring out over the lake, eyes distant and sad. Salazar had to double back a few steps to stand next to him, then was forced to sit on the grass as Jack reclined on the ground, Rowena asleep on his chest.

"Nah, it's not that. I know that, the Doctor's good like that. I was just...remembering."

"Remembering what?"

Jack smiled, bitter just a bit. "It's been a long time since I held a sleeping child."

"Harry's not that old," Salazar pointed out.

Jack shook his head. "No, I wasn't around when Harry was younger. I didn't meet him until he was just past three and holding him was a crime punishable by flying colored balls." Jack laughed. "And then as he got older and more willing to be held, he was far too clever for his own good. Then he never wanted to be held. It's a phase all children go through," Jack said offhandedly, but Salazar wasn't fooled. Lingering at the corner of his eyes, tears pooled.

He touched the man who looked so young but seemed so old with a gentle hand. Jack turned his head into the touch, careful to keep Rowena still. "Who did you lose?" Salazar asked softly.

Jack sighed. "I've lost so many people Sal, that I don't even think I remember all of their names."

Salazar felt he should be insulted by the nickname but couldn't bring himself to be. "Did you lose a child?"

A wry smile answered him, unexpected. "Oh, I've lost so many children I wonder why I still want them around. But they are irresistible, in their own way. Small humans, little hands, minds absorbing knowledge, a soul that grows and grows. Little people that eventually grow into adults who drive you nuts. Then they have children, and knowing that the little human you helped create made another little human, something fundamental in the universe continues and life moves, but you are never sure if you're the same person."

Salazar remained silent for a moment. Then "You don't look old enough to have had grandchildren," he remarked softly. But that was a lie, Salazar knew. His face looked young, but his eyes were so old.

Jack just shook his head slightly and didn't answer.  
~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~

Harry looked at the sword Godric had handed him. He was sure it was at least the length of his arm and half more, heavier than most anything he carried on a regular basis, and blunted on the edge. Harry looked nervously over his shoulder at Rose, who was supervising him, but she appeared nonchalant, reading through her book. But Harry could see a small smile appearing at the corner of her mouth as Godric started instructing him on the use of the sword.

"Alright now Harry, the most important part of defense is knowing how to use your weapons, and I'm not meaning the sword in your hand. Any idiot can swing a sword around and do some damage, but one who can think can slay entire armies."

"I don't want to kill anyone," Harry said softly.

Godric smiled at him. "I know. But the thought still applies. Getting out of scrapes requires more than just a bit of luck and happenstance. You have to know where the weak points are, how to use your surroundings, and most importantly how to use what tools you have at hand. At the moment, you have a sword, and an opponent who has, as of this moment, refused to back down. He also has a sword." Godric brandished his own weapon. Harry thankfully saw that it too was dulled. "You have a couple options at the moment. What do you do?"

Harry looked around himself. He had quite a bit of room to scurry around in and more than enough space to back away from Godric, who was seeming less and less fun as each second passed. Harry didn't like weapons, hated them. But that didn't mean he couldn't learn how to use one. But he didn't have to play by Godric's rules.

He backed up a few steps, summoned a small portion of his magic (Godric's eyes widened) and flung a bright flare of light at the man while he ran and ducked behind a cabinet.

Harry could hear Godric using a few choice words to describe his actions and grinned. He was always good at surprises like that. It was a specialty of his.

However, he didn't hear the footsteps approaching his hiding place and only the placement of his sword in front of him saved him from getting knocked out. The clang of metal was deafening.

"That was mean spirited," Godric said mildly, eyes closed. "I'm going to be blind for an hour because of that."

Harry shivered. Godric had found him without needing to use his eyes (and he might have accidentally overpowered his magic in that attack, he thought wryly).

"Um, sorry Godric," Harry offered, his voice weak. Godric growled.

"Well, let's see how well you can hold a sword then. I had a wonderful master who enjoyed putting a cloth around my eyes and hitting me with a wooden pole to sharpen my reflexes. And you're too loud."

Harry jumped as Godric's sword swung again, and he ran to the other side of the room. He passed by Rose, whose eyes were wide in concern, and he hoped she would make sure Godric didn't crush him into Harry-paste.

"I've never held a sword!" Harry yelled at the man, who was walking sedately after him.

"First time for everything. I even blunted these ones, just for you."

"How considerate of you," Harry retorted.

Godric grinned. "I know, right? And Salazar says I have no common sense."

"He might be right, you know. Seeing as how you're swinging a sword at a child who's never held one before."

"I was younger than you when I got my first lesson. Ended up bruised and with a broken arm by the end of the day..."

Harry shivered as he dodged around a table, avoiding another of Godric's swings. "I would rather not, if it's all the same to you. I like being in one piece, really."

"I'm not going to hurt you Harry. Well, not much aside from maybe a bruise or two. I know what I'm doing. I have been holding a sword since I was four."

Harry groaned. He was clearly not getting out of this lesson. "Can we maybe start with the basics then?" he asked, running behind a chair.

"I was going to do that, until you decided to shoot a beam of pure light at me. Now, well, you can learn the hard way, yes? Sword horizontal at a slight angle upwards, you have a high block. Sword to the left or right, deflection. Lung forward, stab, swing from head, shoulder or side, slice. It isn't too hard."

Harry scrambled back and he heard Rose get up from her position on the couch. He hoped she was getting some reinforcements, but no. She just moved out of the way of the fight, settling in the door frame.

~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~

They had been in Hogwarts for almost two weeks by the Doctor's count, a week and a half with a miniaturized Rowena, and he had resorted to sitting in front of the Tardis for long hours, simply cajoling her into opening. It wasn't working yet, but he hadn't anything else to try.

Rose walked up behind him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "She'll open when she's ready to Doctor," she said, sitting down next to him.

The Doctor glanced over. "I know, but this normal time thing, moving forward so slowly, not even getting to miss the slow parts, I had gotten used to it sort of, what with Harry, but it is still perplexing and irritating."

Rose smiled. "Well, you had to have lived in a linear time line for an extended period of time at some point in your life," she reasoned.

The Doctor tipped his head back in thought. "Well, when I was on Gallifrey as a child, I lived in Lungbarrow for a good portion of my adolescence, until sent to the academy. Got into enough trouble there for messing with time. Eventually got off, ran to Earth, Stayed there for a few months, then took off again. It's been...well, it's been centuries since I've lived in anything resembling linear time for any extended period of time." The Doctor looked at Rose. "And you? How is this time treating you?"

Rose smiled. "I enjoy it. It's not running about and escaping from danger or anything, which is both exhilarating and terrifying, but in a good, you're still alive way, but this magical world that Harry comes from, it's a fascinating place. Things move without electronics, it's not just Harry being able to do fantastical things, there are such odd happenings. An adult was turned into a child without electricity. It's such an interesting society. I know Jack is enjoying himself." Rose grinned at the Doctor, who sighed.

"Jack can always find someone to indulge his flirtations. Though Salazar has a decent head on his shoulders. He's more than a match for our good captain." The Doctor stared at the still irresolute doors of his Tardis. "I wonder though, should I even take Harry back with me? When we leave, I mean. This world, he belongs in it. It's safer for him, not so much life threatening going on at a school. He can learn things here he can't learn on the Tardis."

Rose blinked. "Have you really been worrying...?" she questioned, then hung her head. "Of course you have. Though it's a stupid thing to worry about," she said, poking the Doctor hard. The Doctor swiveled to look at her, injury on his face.

"It's not stupid! I'm thinking about what is best for him."

"Are you really? Or are you being irrational and short sighted?"

"What?"

"He's your son, Doctor, your child. You have the responsibility to care for him, teach him, and raise him, not drop him off at the nearest school and wander away. And do you think Harry would, for one second, let you leave him?"

"I...Rose, he's been in more danger, in more scrapes, in more life threatening conditions with me than almost anyone else I've ever brought with me on the Tardis. He's too precious, too important, for anything to happen to him. If I lost him..." he trailed off.

Rose sighed, running a hand down the Doctor's back. "I understand. My brother's daughter, I felt that way. She was the light of my life, and seeing as how I either lived at Torchwood or with him, I always saw her. She was my niece, but in many ways, while she had her dad and her pop, I was a mother of sorts. I took her to the store when she had her first period, I helped her talk to a boy she liked, seeing as how my brother and his husband's advice was about as helpful as stumbling drunks giving directions. Though that might have been because she was thirteen and their daughter and the thought of her dating at all terrified them." She smiled at the memory. "I helped her with homework, her clothing choices, her first date and her first break-up. But she had to grow up at some point, I couldn't hold on to her forever."

The Doctor sat and listened to her words, a tight expression on his face. He sometimes forgot (or rather he just didn't want to remember) how old Rose had become. That she had raised a little girl alongside her brother and his husband, that she had watched a little child grow into an adult. It was a staggering revelation. "What was her name?"

Rose glanced at him. "Kelly. Kelly Michaelle Tyler-Bryants, and she was a lovely little thing. Long black hair, tanned skin, brilliant electric blue eyes and a smile that lit up the world. She was my star, my little helper. I would take her to the offices and show her off. I'm sure everyone got tired of me expounding on all of everything that she did, but they never let it show." Rose smiled, but the Doctor noticed a sad edge to it.

"What happened to her?" THe Doctor knew Rose had outlived everyone she had ever known from her youth.

Rose looked at the ground, her hand clenching around the Doctor's, before she spoke. "Kelly became an experimental designer, working on prototypes of various vehicle designed. She was mostly in the engineering side, the math and physics, but she occasionally took a test drive in one." Rose paused for a moment. "They were testing out a hover car for higher altitudes and Kelly volunteered to test it out. They had practically every safety measure in place, but they couldn't predict that the car, when it reached about ten thousand feet, would short out. She plummeted into a mountain over India. It took them three days to find the wreckage."

The Doctor sat, stiff, listening to Rose's story. He knew, logically, that Rose had lost her family, lost them to time, disease. It was the curse of never growing old, never dying. But he hadn't quite thought about who she had lost. He hadn't wanted to, he had wanted to keep the illusion of Rose as that innocent girl he had known, though she had lost that innocence. She hadn't lost her wonder, though it had taken a run through a jeweled jungle to get it back. She was still curious and ever asking questions, but she didn't let him take charge as she used to. She would be there right beside him, or more often in front of him, making sure things didn't get too out of hand.

Now, hearing about Kelly, Rose's niece, who had died in a drastic accident, he couldn't help but remember Rose as the woman who had aged in experience and years, though she still looked like the young woman who had saved him so long ago.

"Did she have any children of her own?" he asked softly.

Rose shook her head. "Kelly was twenty-five when she died. Jeff and Tony, they never recovered. Mum and Dad were gone by then, they never saw her. I was there the night my baby brother died, Jeff dying the next night. After that, I didn't have anyone left." Rose turned his face to look at her. "Don't you start pitying my now Doctor. I've had seventy years to come to come to terms with the death of my family. I had my couple decades of self-pity, don't you start." Her brown eyes bored into his. They stayed that way for a few moments, then Rose nodded firmly. "Alright, now, I hope that silly idea of leaving Harry at Hogwarts has left your mind."

The Doctor nodded. "I wouldn't leave him, no matter how much I think it would be better. I was just...I think I was wondering what his life would have been like, growing up in a place filled with magic rather than in the Tardis." The Doctor looked up at the ceiling. "Though why you would advocate for him being in danger. I mean, if anything happened to Harry, if anything like what happened to Kelly happened to Harry..." he trailed off, hoping he hadn't crossed some line.

Rose sat back against the wall. "I used to wonder why we let her work in such a dangerous environment, a prototype testing and design facility, but then, after I thought about it, it was a place she loved working in. She applied there straight out of University, she was 20. Sailed through classes, brilliant girl. Got in and went straight into the design facilities, but she had a thing for thrills. She loved telling us about what she did there, and I got to go on a tour a few times. It was an amazing place. I hold onto the fact that she died doing something she loved doing."

The Doctor looked at Rose, really looked, and saw the woman who had loved, lost, and come to terms with. He felt undeserving of her. "Thank you Rose. Thank you."

Rose shook her head. "I didn't do anything. Not really. I shared a story. One about a girl I loved dearly and lost too early. But while she was in my life, I loved her wholeheartedly, more than I had loved anyone since I lost you. She was my world, then I lost her, and I went into a tailspin. But she taught me a valuable lesson, in life and death. It's why I've kept my phone for so long, even though it became obsolete in model type years and years before. I had pictures of her and Jeff and Tony on it, when they were young, photos I had nowhere else. I'll show you, some time."

The Doctor jumped, startled. "You...you will?"

"Of course," Rose laughed. "I wouldn't tell you about her without showing you pictures. It's been decades since I got to brag about my little girl. She might be long gone, but the things she did still impacted the world, my world especially." Rose grinned. "Being around Harry reminds me of her sometimes. She always got into things she shouldn't be getting into. One time she got into some of my files from Torchwood, not dangerous ones, mostly personnel files, but it ended up with about twenty people being assigned another person's name and information. I had to go in by hand and reorganize everything." Rose grinned.

The Doctor laughed, and felt lighter for it. Harry was always a worry in his mind, and these two weeks at Hogwarts reminded him that he would, eventually, have to give Harry up to the world he was born from, but not now. He could hold onto his little boy for a while longer. And he might even find a way to keep Harry around longer than that. It was all about the right strings being pulled. And Rose's stories would give him a distraction from a now future worry.

Eventually, as in three days after the Doctor's existential crisis, the Tardis finally opened it's doors. Harry was in the potions lab, sans sonic screwdriver, putting together a mixture of ingredients in an attempt to create a sleeping potion based solely off of his study of various potions ingredients and their properties. It was becoming an issue of immense proportions, but Harry was determined.

He was so focused that when his father came barging in with an excited smile on his face, waving the Tardis key around, he accidentally dropped an entire bowl of crushed newts eyes rather than the two spoons and the potion blew up in his face. He had a rather remarkable reaction to it, turning purple.

The Doctor skidded to a stop, a bemused expression crossing his face, then he broke out into laughter and Harry glared angrily at him. The Doctor waved his hand in apology.

"What was so important you needed to rush into the room like a maniac dad?" Harry asked, trying to push his poofy green hair out of his face.

"The Tardis is open!" the Doctor shouted.

Harry blinked. "Really? It's been forever!"

"Are you sure Doctor?" Salazar asked, having avoided Harry's mistake by quick and practiced use of the shield charm and a decent distance from his accident prone student.

The Doctor looked at him indignantly. "Of course I'm sure! This is a momentous occasion! We can return Rowena to her proper age and then be off!"

Harry smiled, then suddenly felt rather sad. He would be leaving this place, with all its magic and splendor and interesting people. Would he ever come back? He asked as much of his father.

The Doctor paused for a moment, something sad and fearful flashing across his face. Then he said, "Someday Harry, we'll be back. Just, not when you think. We might make it back here, to this time, but who knows. I know you'll be going to Hogwarts in your future, but a different Hogwarts, not this one."

Harry stared at him, unsure what to say.

Salazar spoke up. "Well then, if we have a way to fix Rowena, we should probably get on that, yes?"

Harry cleared his head of his troubling thoughts before grinning. "Yes, of course. Though I hope she isn't too mad at me for what I did."

The Doctor smiled at him. "Oh I don't think she'll have minded spending a couple weeks as a toddler. It's rather freeing, I'm sure. No worries, not really. People taking care of you, watching out for you, feeding you. Rose has been all over the child-care business." Another flicker of sorrow, then it cleared. "Come on then, I need you to do the groundwork with this."

"Clean up your mistakes, I know," Harry repeated dutifully.

The Doctor nodded, "But aslo you are the only one I know who can channel the energy we need to correct the temporal error. You remember the lessons in Temporal energy and how it is actually applied?"

"Temporal energy is circular in nature. It would rather correct a linear mistake that alter it even further. The only reason I managed to effect it so peculiarly is because of how I accessed the energy. In a linear world, temporal energy, in small doses, usually will not effect a linear time line unless an outside force has structured its access." It sounded like a recitation.

Salazar smiled. Harry had obviously been made to repeat that particular bit of information a few times.

"Correctamundo! Now, I need Jack. He said he had the crystal sliver from the Temporal Schism. I need that crystal." The Doctor looked at Salazar. "You wouldn't, by chance, know where he is?" he asked.

Salazar tilted his head for a moment. "I believe he is on the grounds with Godric, most likely sparring. Godric has a passion for fighting and Jack is a most interesting fighter."

The Doctor sighed. "Of course. I hope they don't manage to injure each other too much."

Salazar sighed. "There is only so much one can do against the tyranny of the fighting men. Let them bruise each other black and blue and make sure they drag themselves to a healer afterwards."

Harry laughed. "Sounds like you've had to deal with it a number of times."

"You would not believe the number of times Godric has dragged himself back to the castle with cuts and bruises because he had to go challenge the knights at a nearby fortress and there was no way to talk him out of it. If Helga hadn't been around he would be in pieces by now."

Harry laughed.

The Doctor headed for the entrance as soon as they reached the main hallway and burst out into the courtyard before heading for the fields beyond, by the lake.

True to Salazar's prediction, Godric and Jack were fighting beside the lake, though they had swords in hand. Salazar sighed. "Of course they would have the weaponry out. What else would they be doing?"

Harry watched in fascination. After that first lesson with Godric, having been handed a sword that he could barely lift and running around the room with a determined Godric after him, Harry wasn't all too fond of the weapons. But it was interesting to see a duel fought by two people who knew what they were doing.

Jack fought with a newer style, possibly picked up on any number of the fighting worlds he had visited, or even Harry thought, on Earth in Japan, where, he heard, Samurai had lived. Samurai were such a strange and interesting culture. Harry heard that their blades were their souls. One day he wanted to see if that were true or not.

Godric was clearly the more experienced swordsman, despite Jack's longevity, but Jack wasn't a slacker. The fight waged on for a few more minutes until, with a final clash of swords, Jack was disarmed. He bowed in defeat, a grin on his face.

"It has been a while since I've been so thoroughly beaten," he said, admiration in his voice.

Godric grinned, wiping sweat off his brow. "It has also been a long time since I have been sufficiently challenged. You should teach young Harry how to wield a blade. He has talent but little motivation."

Jack laughed. "He's an intellectual. Prefers thinking through a fight rather than swinging through it."

Godric sighed."I do know the type," he said, looking at Salazar, who merely raised an eyebrow.

"Jack!" the Doctor called. "Need you to find that crystal for me."

A moment of silence. "Wait, the Tardis is open?" he said, blinking in surprise. The Doctor nodded. "Well, alright then. Guess now is as good as any a time." Jack looked at Harry, purple pafe and green hair, then laughed. "Nic look Harry!" he called Harry scowled, crossing his arms.

"I'll go find Rowena. She's most likely with Rose and Helga," Godric said, heading for the castle ahead of them. He nodde at Harry, a grin on his face. "I like the makeover."

"Alright. Bring them to the tower where Rowena first changed when you find them. We'll meet you there."

Godric nodded, waving a hand behind him before heading up the stairs and through the massive doors. The Doctor turned to Harry, Jack and Salazar.

"Well, are we going to get it now?" Jack said.

"Of course. I'm just wondering how we're going to channel the power through it. But I suppose that's up to Harry here."

Harry gulped. "Alright then," he said. "I'll work it out."

"Off to the Tardis. Allonsy!"

"Allonsy?" Salazar asked perplexed. The Doctor looked behind him in mild surprise. "I have never heard the word before."

"It's, it's french," the Doctor explained.

Salazar nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose it could be, though it sounds much different from the French I know."

The Doctor shrugged. Harry and Jack laughed. "It's alright. Half the time I don't know if he's speaking English," Jack said to Salazar. "Him or Harry."

Harry turned around indignantly, but caught the teasing look on Jack's face and harrumphed.

The Tardis loomed up, bright and blue, and the Doctor cried out in joy, inserting the key and grinning when the doors swung open. "Hello Old Girl," he said fondly. "It's wonderful to be home again."

Harry followed him inside. Thankfully, as he stepped into the Tardis, the color faded from his face and hair. H breathed a sigh of relief. he would have hated been green and purple forever.

Salazar stopped just shy of the doors, wondering if he could enter such a sacred place, before Harry stuck his head outside. "Jack, you coming? You can bring Salazar too, you're just explaining it to him." Harry grinned.

Jack grabbed Salazar by the elbow and toted the founder inside the blue box.

Salazar stopped in mild shock. This box was far bigger on the inside. Or was it smaller on the outside? Did it matter which way it was perceived? From the outside, it was merely a blue box, large for a box but not overly. Inside was an entire world. What did one make of that? Was the world the real place and the box only the perception?

"Which one is the real one?" Salazar asked suddenly. Harry twirled around, looked at Salazar with a smile on his face.

"Real what? Tardis?" Salazar nodded. Harry's grin grew even wider. "Well, that depends on what you want to believe. For me, this is my home. The box, blue and amazing and fascinating and bigger on the inside or smaller on the outside. I've never known another home. I always see the Tardis for what she is, really, because I don't know any different I suppose. But if you want to know what is real, both are. The outside is as solid as the inside, but because of the way the Tardis is grown she is naturally dimensionally transcendental. She exists at all points of time and space simultaneously. Makes having conversation in words hard, which is why I speak with emotions and pictures. The outside is so much smaller because the Tardis doesn't exist in the same plane as that reality. She occupies a different dimension, so the projection of the blue box is, in effect, her appearance on the plain of reality we exist in. If you were to view the Tardis in her dimension from the outside, it would be rather huge."

Salazar took all of this in, letting the information soak into his brain and trying to process the meaning. "So," he said slowly. "It's as if the blue box we can see is still the Tardis, but only a part of the Tardis?"

Harry nodded. "In a sense. Kind of like how Hogwarts has sentience, you just can't see it. You can see the effects it has, like moving rooms or staircases, but you can't see the brain. The Tardis is a multi-dimensional being of immense power. No one has ever really fully understood a Tardis, from what I understand, they just learned how to use them. Because a Tardis is grown, there is already a sentience, almost always female, I am told."

Salazar processed this. "So a Tardis is more like a person than a plant or a box, yes?"

"Well, I suppose if you want to see it that way, it could be a type of view.

Salazar spun slowly around on the spot, staring at all the different and strange devices around him. This was a being that was alive, that existed separate from the function of its purpose. Her purpose, Salazar supposed, having listened to Harry tell it. It was a wondrous thing, being inside of something so unique. He wondered if Hogwarts would one day have the same feeling. He would feel privileged to have been part of something that was even a fraction of fascinating as this vessel was.

"So you like the decor?" Jack's voice came from behind him and Salazar didn't even mind the hand that spun him around to face the blue eyed man with the dashing smile.

"It's...she's breathtaking. Amazing, exhilarating. I feel as if I've stepping into another world."

Jack grinned. "The Tardis will do that to you. She is a piece of another world, a world long gone from this plane of existence but one that had an immense impact on how it was run." Jack nodded over towards the Doctor.

Salazar frowned in confusion, then his eyes widened. "Is he...is he one of those gods non magicals speak of, the ones that live in the sky?"

Jack blinked, stunned, before he laughed. "Oh, no, nothing so grand. Though I was sure that by now the planets had been discovered, or at least noticed. I'm not very good at Early Earth History, failed it twice in school. Had to do remedial lessons to get into the agency." Jack grinned that wicked grin Salazar had taken to.

"I take it you mean the spherical bodies that spin around in the sky. Yes, the centaurs speak of them, though they have strange names for them. Rowena would know, I stay away from that foolishness." Salazar scowled in disapproval.

"Yes, well, there are millions of those, humans will discover many of them, and he comes from one, a completely different planet."

Salazar looked as if he wasn't really sure whether he should believe Jack or not, mostly because he wasn't sure that the planets that Jack spoke of actually existed, which made it hard to prove anything at all about his point really. Jack sighed and was about to explain more when the Doctor's voice rang out,

"JACK! WHAT POCKET ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I AM NOT GOING THROUGH ALL OF YOUR CLOTHES!"

Salazar gently shoved Jack away and towards the opposite doorway. "Go find this crystal you are speaking of that will help Rowena, then you can try and explain planets to me."

Jack saluted before turning and heading off down the corridor, shouting back indistinctly.

Harry looked at his potions instructor, smiling. "You really do care for him, don't you?" he said softly.

Salazar looked at Harry, frowning for a moment, before he sighed. "Yes, I suppose I do. He makes it hard not to. Ridiculously charming and with just a hint of desperation and desolation. It makes me want to take care of him, though he would never let me. But it does draw me to him. There's so much sadness around him, yet he looks so young." Salazar smiled at Harry. "Though I suppose you don't want to hear anymore of your uncle's romantic life?"

Harry waved a hand. "Most of that's for show. He flirts because it's his nature. When he comes from, that is the generally accepted behaviour for people. He doesn't care about gender, species or any other category, it's the beauty of a person that draws him, physical and mental. He is a person who can never not love, no matter how much it breaks his heart. I sometimes just want him to not flirt because then maybe I won't have to help pick up the pieces afterwards. He gives his whole heart to someone he will never be able to live with, and he knows it, but he doesn't care." Harry stared at the doorway his uncle had walked through. "I am glad he met you, for however a brief time it will be. Few really care about him the way he cares for them."

They sat in silence as Harry finished, and Salazar wondered just how long Jack had lived. What had happened to the man that had created this endlessly loving yet masochistic person? He wasn't going to ask, it wasn't his place unless Jack wanted to tell him, but he couldn't deny Harry's words.

"You all are something very different," Salazar said. Harry turned, owl eyes. "I mean, your and your family. You, impossible child, your father with his strange box that is alive and yet so fascinatingly beautifully purposeful, Rose with her young face and old eyes and strange connection to the Doctor, and Jack, the ageless man with a history convoluted. Nothing about you four is normal or even functional individually. Leave Rose, your father, Jack, alone, I see self destructive personalities all over their faces. People who desperately want to help but can't quite get over their own lives. And you, shaped by them, I wonder how you might have been without their influences." Salazar paused for a moment and Harry was about to speak up in defense of his family, when Salazar continued. "But together, together you four are an unstoppable force of nature, a raging inferno that can't be stopped, but one that burns the destructive to let the new grow through. It's absolutely astonishing."

Harry could do little more than blink as Salazar finished, and he didn't get a chance to reply before the Doctor came bounding out of the back halls with a yellow shard held tightly in one hand. Jack followed at a more leisurely pace, grinning.

"Alright, who's up for some time bending?"

Harry choked on air.  
~~~

Salazar followed the whirl of activity that was the Doctor and Harry out of the Tardis and down the hall. There was a lot of running involved, he thought, especially since Rowena has waited nearly two weeks for this to happen. Why rush round?

"Running a specialty of the Doctor's, and Harry's inherited it as well. So you either keep up or catch up. They don't wait for you."

His thoughts must have been obvious if Jack was commenting on them. But nonetheless he ran after the two sprinters, not really wanting to miss what was going to happen.

Harry and the Doctor bounded the steps of the tower and skidded into the door, greeting Rose, Helga, Godric and the miniaturized Rowena with a huff of air and a smile.

"Are we ready Doctor?" Rose asked, nodding to the child in her arms.

The Doctor looked around to Harry, raising a questioning eyebrow. "Well Harry, you ready to fix your mistake?"

Harry nodded firmly and his father smiled at him, a beaming grin. "Alright, allonsy! let's get the good founder back to her rightful age!" Jack and Salazar hovered outside the door. "Okay, if everyone who isn't either affected by time or currently the mischief maker move outside the door, that would be brilliant." He waited while Helga and Godric moved outside. Rose stayed where she was, rocking little Rowena. The Doctor looked at her. "You as well Rose."

Rose shook her head. "No way. I am time-proof. It's unlikely any small amount you use to return Rowena will do anything to me."

The Doctor sighed, exasperated. "I can't risk the Bad Wolf deciding to pay a visit because of an open rift." Rose stared the Doctor straight in the eyes, unmoving. "Please Rose. I don't know what that entity does to you, but until we can understand it better, I don't want to put you in a position where you are more affected by pure time than you have to be."

There was a silent standoff, the Doctor and Rose starring the other down. Harry tried to make himself small, unwilling to be caught in whatever fight might possibly break out, then the tension snapped when Rose sighed, reluctantly giving into the Doctor's request.

"Alright, but I'm not going any further than the door," she warned him. The Doctor smiled. "And be careful with her, she's fragile." Rose handed Rowena off to the Doctor, who took her with gentle hands.

"I will. And the door is all I ask. The temporal energy should be concentrated solely around the crystal and Rowena, with Harry acting as a medium."

"Isn't that dangerous for Harry?" Helga asked from the hallway.

"If he wasn't protected by his inherent magic and connection with the Tardis, it would be tremendously. But by virtue of his nature, Harry is shielded from much of the effects of temporal energy in small doses." The Doctor shifted Rowena around until he could hold out the crystal, a small piece of fabric wrapped around the base. "Careful Harry. We don't want to activate the crystal and I don't want you touching it bare handed without preparation so close to a rift. Even if it is a small one."

Harry gingerly took the crystal, making sure to not touch the actual crystal. "Do I have to touch her, like I did before?" Harry asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "No, this time you will be manifesting the temporal energy directly into the room using the crystal as a catalyst. You aren't filtering it through your magic to make it visible."

Harry nodded, then he looked at the crystal in his hands. It was slender, about a foot in length, and inside was a...was that a dragon? "Dad, why is there a dragon inside this crystal? And it's still flying."

The Doctor looked over at it curiously." I do believe that is a Sunset Mountain Dragon. Been extinct since, oh, 679 C.E.? I Imagine that it was what was present at the point the rift manifested in that time. So when the fracture occurred, it's image was captured and preserved within the crystal. Though I must say, they are a remarkable species, dragons. Very similar to Draconians, on a planet in the Frixal S78 system. Though they are far more even tempered than dragons."

Harry peered closer at the crystal, watching the majestic, bronze and crimson creature fly through unseen skies. "Will it still be there when I'm done?" Harry asked, concerned.

The Doctor shrugged. "I don't know. Though the dragon itself shouldn't have been harmed after the fracture was closed. Though I can't be sure. Maybe it was temporally captured and that is the dragon, reliving it's last moments before being frozen."

Harry looked vaguely uncomfortable with the idea of a living creature inside the object he would use as a catalyst, but he couldn't see any other choice.

The Doctor placed Rowena directly underneath the rift, the little girl blinking sleepily up at Harry. She had just woken up from a nap and had been rushed up to the tower with little compunction. She wasn't sure she liked this.

"Harry, you know what to do, yes?" the Doctor asked.

"I'm to channel my magic through the crystal, maintaining contact between the temporal catalyst and the rift. The release of temporal energy into the crystal should be directed into Rowena by physical contact."

The Doctor nodded in approval, then stepped back towards the door, not quite stepping outside but retreating far enough back to give Harry some space.

Harry looked down at Rowena. "I hope you won't be too upset at me for this when you return to normal," Harry said. "I really am sorry."

Then he concentrated, reaching for the exact location of the rift. It was right above Rowena's head. His dad really had a good sense of Time, being able to pinpoint the rift so clearly. He grinned, then touched the crystal with a bit of hesitance with bare hands. The crystal pulsed, literally, and he saw a wave of energy from it in all directions for a few feet. It passed through him with a ripple and Harry shuddered. But it didn't do anything, so he started filtering his magic through it, reaching forward until the tip touched the spot in the air where he had unraveled the schema between this plain and the time vortex.

The reaction was astonishing, and the crustal started glowing a brilliant golden color. Harry grinned. Well, this was going better than he expected.

Below him, Rowena watched the proceedings with wide eyes. It was so pretty, and she reached a hand up to touch it. Fortunately she was too far away from the light to do much about touching it too early. Harry really didn't need this going anymore wrong than it had already gone.

"What is he doing Doctor?" Godric asked. "It's like a...a swirling golden wind around him."

The Doctor looked over in surprise. "You can see the energy?" he said softly.

Godric nodded. "Yeah. I've always been able to, but this is an astonishing amount. More than I would expect."

"Hmm. Well, I'll ask you about that later, but essentially Harry is using the energy he is gathering from the rift and channeling it through the crystal. The crystal acts as a catalyst so it doesn't just float about doing things it shouldn't be doing. Harry can then direct the energy to where it needs to go. In this case, into Rowena, acting as a kind of fast forward for her life. It will bring her timeline and the current time into sync."

"I think I might have understood that. Sort of. So he is returning Rowena to normal?"

"Yes."

Harry waited for a few moments, then abruptly tilted the crystal downward, toward Rowena's head. Just as it was about to touch her, he let it go with a tiny push, and it connected with her upturned face.

The moment it connected, Rowena was bathed in a halo of golden light, obscuring her form. The light began to get brighter and brighter, and Harry was forced to back up to avoid being brought into it. He couldn't risk it.

It took a few moments, moments Harry worriedly bit his fingernails. He could only hope it would work.

A few moments later, the light cleared and Harry cast about for Rowena.

He abruptly turned around, eyes wide, staring at his father. "Um, dad. Bit of a problem."

"What, what happened?"

Harry fidgeted. "Well, i didn't quite remember that Rowena was getting bigger, which also meant that her body would be getting bigger, which meant that she would outgrow her clothes..." Harry trailed off. "And, well, she's, a bit...underdressed."

The Doctor peered around Harry, but was yanked back by Rose. "Give her a bit of privacy," Rose scolded. "If one of you magic people could conjure a blanket, that would be lovely." Someone waved a wand and muttered something and a blanket appeared in Rose's hands. "Thank you. Now, will everyone not female leave? We'll bring Rowena down when she's more put together."

"But I need to make sure she's not suffering any ill effects!" the Doctor protested.

Rose shooed him out the door. "Go! I'm sure we can manage to make sure she's put together properly without you helping."

So, with a mild bit of protesting, the Doctor, Godric, Jack, Salazar, and Harry were shooed out of the tower and down to the hallway.

Rose and Helga covered Rowena with the blanket (it was bright red, probably courtesy of Godric). The woman was still unconscious, though Rose didn't expect anything else from her. She had just been funnelled through a temporal schism worths of energy to correct her timeline, it wasn't surprising she had decided that not being conscious was far better than eyes open.

"Do you know when she'll wake up?" Helga asked. Rose shook her head. Helga sighed. "I suppose we'll just have to wait then."

"I suppose so. Besides, she doesn't need to wake up surrounded by the Doctor and Harry and their nosy questions."Rose tilted her head thoughtfully. "Though maybe she shouldn't wake up on the floor either. Not very comfortable, is it?"

Helga smiled. "No, I suppose not." She pulled her wand out from her sleeve and waved it in an intricate pattern, and rose watched as a bed materialized. "It's her bed, from her room. Might be a tad bit more comfortable." Rose nodded in approval. Helg swished the length of wood again and Rowena slowly floated up and onto the bed. the blanket settled around her, tucking itself in. "She can move it back to her room when she's awake. For now, it isn't doing any harm where it is."

"How long have you know Rowena?" Rose asked curiously.

"Since she was a child. I'm older than her by about eight years. I took her in when her parents cast her out. They didn't approve of magic at all, didn't understand it. She was about seven and brilliant. Had quite a mouth on her. it's calmed over the years, but she can mouth off with the best of them when she's angry." Helga chuckled. "Almost chucked her to the curb myself, once or twice. Precocious child, but I could never really give up on her. She needed someone who wouldn't. So when I could, I would teach her what magic my parents taught me before they died. Salazar found us a bit later, a roving apprentice to a powerful wizard, and Godric was tagging along like a puppy."

"What's the story with those two? Raised together?"

Helga shrugged. "They never say. I think Godric was the son of a nobleman, but i can never get which one from him. He sounds like he's from the Island to the west, but he won't confirm it and he's smoothed out the accent over the years. He used to roll his 'r's terribly. Salazar, I believe, is an orphan. Never knew his parents, doesn't know where he came from, doesn't know much of anything about his past at all. He doesn't really mind either, but i know it bugs him."

Rose smiled. Such a disparate group. "How'd you all decide to build a castle? I mean, it is a rather extravagant project for those so young."

Helga smiled, looking off into the distance. "None of us really belonged anywhere, so I think we were all desperate to belong somewhere, and where better than a castle? Great lords and nobles live in them, and we could teach. I love teaching, Godric loves teaching when he isn't busy blowing things up, I know Salazar enjoys it when he has a good pupil, and Rowena will talk anyone's ear off if they have half a mind to sit still in her presence. So we decided why not make our home big enough for children as well, those who don't have homes, though we haven't got any orphans right now. Our last three left to go find some kind of employment when the Harvest started. Mostly we have kids from the villages who need to be taught how to use their gifts. it soothes the parents, knowing that their children are being taught, especially those who come from families without magic."

Rose nodded. "So you all made this place a home and a school. What do you plan on doing when you die?"

Helga shrugged. "We haven't really thought about it. Salazar and I are about the same age, Rowena is the youngest and we think Godric is a couple years older than her, though he doesn't say." Helga shot her a look. "Despite his loud mouth, Godric is the one most people underestimate. We don't know his past, almost nothing about his gifts, and he has some powerful magic as his command."

"You all are powerful. What makes him so different?"

Helga paused, gathering her thoughts. "Yes, we are all strong. Amazingly talented. Almost no known spell is beyond our reach. In fact, anything known today we have access to the knowledge to use and the ability to manipulate. But Godric is a step beyond that. He sees magic at it's fundamental base. Manipulates it strangely. He is the one that infused the castle with its blanket of protections."

"Don't underestimate the rest of us, Helga," Rowena's voice filtered out from under the blankets. "Godric is unusually strong, but lacks a fundamental focus that would be necessary to make him dangerous. He's also far more interested in actually helping people, no matter how much of a nuisance Salazar finds him." Rowena sat up, pulling th blankets up around her to keep herself decently covered. "Are there clothes I could have?" she asked. "It's a bit chilly."

Helga waved her wand around, muttering something Rose thought was latin. A simple blue dress and a pair of black shoes appeared, laying themselves across Rowena's bed at Helga's direction. Rowena nodded her thanks, and Rose and Helga turned their backs to give Rowena some privacy. It was a few moments, then Rowena told them to turn around.

"What about the rest of you? You all excel in something. Godric is powerful and mysterious, I know a couple people who like to believe they're a bit like that." Rose grinned. "But I know Salazar is good with potions and Helga, you showed me your plants."

Rowena smiled slightly. "Salazar is a gift with potions, able to create some of the most unusual concoctions ever known. He's also a master of transfiguration. Though don't count Godric out of that one. The two of them are collaborating on how to turn themselves into animals. Not quite sure how that is working out at the moment, but it should be interesting."

"Rowena's brilliant at enchantments. No one else as good as her anywhere known. Though I have heard tell of mystics in the far East who are shocking. And she's the one with the brain. When she can keep her temper and her curiosity in check." Helga gave Rowena a fond look. Rowena scowled.

"Well, I'm sorry my curiosity got the better of me. Though I did manage to learn quite a lot from my experience."

"You remember it?" Rose asked, astonished.

Rowena nodded, biting her lip. "In a distant way, yes. I remember the actual transformation quite clearly, then, suddenly, everything gets a different perspective. Everything is so tinged with emotions, less thinking and more...that's pretty, you're mean, sleepy, hungry, I like this." Rowena looked at Rose. "Is that normal?"

Rose nodded. "The Doctor said your mind had returned to the state of a two year old, protecting itself from the harmful effects older memories and mental processes can have on a fragile young mind. I remember what children are like at that age. Everything is emotional, everything is driven by desire. Kelly was a precocious two year old, always getting into things, always smiling and having a wonderfully childlike excuse for why said things were out of order."

"You are a mother?" Helga asked in astonishment. "But you look barely old enough to have left home!"

"No, not a mother, and I'm far older than I appear. But my niece was an adorable two year old."

"Your niece?" Rowena asked, a hint of confusion in her voice.

"My brother's daughter. Him and his husband took in Kelly when she was a baby, her birth mother had given her up. She was too young to care for a child and she didn't have a husband or wife or a willing family to help her."

Helga nodded in understanding. "Your brother is a kind person, to do such a thing."

Rose smiled but didn't say anything more on the subject, turning to Rowena instead. "So, how's your mind, is everything settling in alright? Nothing out of place? Unusual?"

Rowena frowned in concentration, then shook her head. "Not at the moment, no. Though the surge of emotions is a strange one, I would guess that returning from such a young age it would be normal to have that surge." Rowena looked about the room. "Oh, I guess that being able to see the small tear in the middle of the room would be unusual."

Rose looked at her sharply. "Tear? Where exactly is this tear?"

Rowena pointed. "Over there, nearby the table where Harry first opened the space between the planes. Though it's so tiny that nothing is really escaping."

Rose narrowed her eyes. "I'll have to make sure the Doctor knows about it. It is dangerous to leave any sort of temporal schism open on this plane, no matter how small. You can't know the effects it may have on the surroundings." Rose looked at Rowena. "I would suggest you avoid it. We don't know what it may do to you, even though you've been restored to your proper timeline."

Rowena nodded. "I did learn a great deal about time though. I shan't underestimate someone just on age alone again. I fear I might have provoked Harry into his rash decision and then I didn't listen to him when he told me to not touch anything." Rowena sighed.

"Harry would probably have shown you anyway, had you been disparaging or encouraging. One would have been as a plea for you to see something interesting, the other would have been in excitement to show you something interesting. You can't win when it comes to the Doctor or Harry. They will do what they will and damn the reasons."

Helga grinned. "I do believe Salazar has managed to get Harry to actually follow directions. Took a bit of finesse, but it is amusing."

Rose laughed. "As long as it's interesting, you can keep either of them entertained for hours. Days. Weeks. It's a bit scary sometimes, how focused they get. But they get some amazing things done."

~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~

The boys were discussing the situation as well, the moment they all managed to get on the same level.

"So, you think Rowena will be okay Doctor?" Godric asked, worrying at his fingernails and tearing little pieces of hanging skin off.

The Doctor nodded. "Most likely. There is a small possibility of a permanent effect on her memory, but nothing overly serious. We didn't change anything, rather we returned her to her proper state. the temporal energy and her own magic should compensate for the alteration that had to be made to put her right."

"But there is a small chance of something going wrong?"

"Unlikely Godric, but yes. We'll know whenever Rose comes back down." The Doctor stared up the stairs, worry plain in his eyes.

Harry was keeping quiet, unwilling to draw any sort of attention to himself until he knew that whatever had happened had turned out for the best. The crystal in his hands was now empty of the dragon he had seen, and he hoped it had returned to it's proper time, alive. The thought that he might have inadvertently killed such a magnificent creature was something he didn't want to contemplate.

The silence filled the space, then the Doctor spoke again. "Well, until we are allowed back up, it is unlikely that we will know what's happened. And Rose is unlikely to let me back into the room, no matter what I say to her. She's stubborn like that." The Doctor scowled slightly. "Stubborn girl."

Harry stifled a laugh.

"I hope she's alright. Rowena's the baby of the group, you know. Found her tagging along behind Helga. She wasn't more than ten, but she had a mouth on her. Helga was a saint, putting up with her. She got better as she got older, but I haven't met anyone as smart as her, not until you four showed up." Godric smiled. "She's sort of like my baby sister, who I love to irritate. I mean, I wouldn't hurt her, but she does have a brilliant temper when she gets upset. Her feathers get all ruffled. Almost as much fun as Salazar here." Godric nodded at Salazar, who was leaning against the far wall.

Salazar opened one eye to peer at him. "You are the singularly most annoying person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, and that' saying a lot. If you hadn't been such an awkward child with a stubborn streak I might have just left you where I found you, on that beach."

Godric grinned. "You couldn't have. You have a soft spot for gangly red heads with a penchant for trouble."

"Almost more trouble than you're worth," Salazar muttered.

"SO you all didn't grow up together?" Harry asked curiously.

Godric looked down at Harry, smiling. "No we didn't, though the three of us older ones raised Rowena, sort of. When she let us. Though that isn't sayng much, seeing as we aren't that much older than her."

"Really? i thought you all were about the same age," the Doctor mused.

"Helga and I are the same age, or thereabouts. I am unsure of when I was born. Godric as about four seasons younger than me and four older than Rowena. But in maturity, Godric falls right at the bottom." Salazar smirked at his friend.

Godric sighed, a long suffering sigh that indicated that he had indeed dealt with this kind of thing for quite a while. "At least I don't have a wooden pole for a spine. it takes a veritable catastrophe for you to change anything."

"He changed how he taught for me!" Harry protested.

"You are a natural disaster Harry. You wander around and upset everyone's expectations of the world. It would be a miracle if Salazar hadn't changed to teach you."

"At least he wasn't swinging a sword at me," Harry muttered.

"They were blunted," Godric protested.

Harry frowned. "I'm sure that makes all the difference. For now though, I'll keep my mind open as to who teaches best here. I still haven't lost that bruise from that lesson."

~~~~  
Harry, the Doctor, Godric, Jack, and Salazar lingered at the foot of the stairs for well over half an hour before Rose came down, smiling. The Doctor immediately sprang towards her, grasping both her shoulders.

"Is Rowena alright?" he asked.

Rose rolled her eyes, pushing the Doctor's hands aside. "Rowena is fine. She has full mental capacity, no ill effects other than some woefully fuzzy memories of her time as a toddler and a penchant for messing with time magic. And an uncanny ability to see time. Well, a little bit of time, the temporal energy seeping through the crack in her room."

The Doctor breathed in deeply. "Alright, not that bad. i expected something like that to happen. People rarely escape an encounter with temporal energy and remain the same. We are lucky the most she has in an ability to see temporal energy." The Doctor looked over at Godric. "She isn't alone in that ability at least."

Rose's eyes widened and she too glanced in the red head's direction. "You can see temporal energy as well?"

Godric shrugged. "I think it's more like a person's aura, and temporal energy, as you say, falls under that particular category."

"Godric's ability to tap into that wavelength of energy is probably something he inherited from his parents, his maternal line, if I must guess. It is mostly a female thing, from what I've seen of humanity. Though since he doesn't talk much about his family, I couldn't say." The Doctor frowned slightly. "But it will help Rowena adjust, having someone around who knows what she is seeing and being able to help her."

"You aren't staying?" Salazar interjected, looking concerned.

The Doctor shook his head. "No. We can't. It's not really Harry's time to be at Hogwarts and we've already stayed far longer than I expected to. Thought that can be attributed to Harry's mistake, but it did give him ample opportunity to learn some valuable things. But we can't linger here any longer."

Salazar glanced at Jack, who nodded in resigned agreement. Salazar jerked his head to the side then walked off. Jack looked to the Doctor, who nodded, and then followed his current paramour away from the group.

Rose looked after them with worried eyes. "Will he be okay?"

"Jack or Salazar?" the Doctor asked.

"Both."

"I don't know. Jack...Jack might take it harder than Salazar, but Salazar is...we'll have to see."

Godric frowned. "I wasn't aware they were that serious," he said, consernation coloring his voice.

harry sighed. "Uncle Jack has a tendency to get over invested in people who interest him. It doesn't work out well for him when he has leave. I just hope he doesn't end up depressed. That never ends well."

"I never thought I would see Salazar actually find someone interesting enough to invest so much time in," Godric said thoughtfully. "He's usually so aloof."

"Jack has the ability to overcome the most hardened barriers someone has. He's just got that charm about him." Rose put an arm on Godric's shoulder. "They'll have us, when they are done." Godric nodded, but the concern on his face didn't go away.

~~~~This is a scene Break~~~~~

Jack followed Salazar down the hallway and up a staircase, moving farther and farther away from the group waiting for Rowena to come down the stairs.

Salazar stopped suddenly, turned around to face jack abruptly, before grasping a handful of Jack's white button up shirt, pulling him in close, uncertainty in his eyes, Jack's surprise slipped into easy comfort, and he smiled, before Salazar finished what he started and kissed him.

It was a soft kiss, unlike the violent yank that had brought them closer. Not chaste, but far from scandalous. Sweet and gentle, and Jack wanted to sink into it, into this man he had come to care about and, ultimately, had to leave. He had hurt enough people in his life that loved him, he couldn't even think about staying with Salazar, no matter how much he wanted to. He shouldn't.

After a few, uncountable, moments, Salazar pulled away, the hand that had gripped Jack's shirt sliding down to rest on his waist. Hesitant, unsure. "You, you're leaving, aren't you?"

Jack nodded, not sure what to say. Salazar backed up a step, and Jack let him. but he couldn't stop his traitorous hand from reaching out to grasp Salazar's own. "I'm sorry," he whispered. It sounded inadequate.

"I should have known, but I didn't...I don't think I wanted to think about it. You leaving. I mean, it's only been a couple weeks but..." Salazar paused, gathered his thoughts, breathed. "I don't want you to leave. I want you to stay. Here. With me."

Jack's eyes widened. "I...you wouldn't want that," he finally said.

"Why? Because you're older than me?" Jack jumped slightly. "Only those who have seen many years have the same look in their eyes, and you speak of grandchildren. You may not look the picture of teenage youth, but you don't look old enough to have grandchildren."

"You wouldn't like that," Jack said. "Me staying. No matter how much I want to, how much you want me to, in the end, you wouldn't want it."

"Why? Because you're broken? Because you're old? Because I'm young?" Jack shook his head. "Am I not good enough?" Salazar cried.

Jack stepped forward, wrapped his arms around the younger man. He sometimes forgot that Salazar, for all his wisdom and power, was still young, still so easily hurt. He had forgotten what young adults were like. The Doctor was older than him, Rose had outgrown those awkward young adult years long ago, and Harry was still a child. He had forgotten what it was like to be so passionate and fervent and desperate. "No, no, never think that Salazar. Sal. Never. You are, you are amazing. Smart, brilliant, strong, amazing, kind, patient. Everything about you is worth every ounce of time I could spend with you."

"Then why can't you stay, spend it with me?" he whispered, his voice trembling with tears. "I thought, when the Doctor was going to leave, that you might stay here, with me. Just for a little while longer, at least. The Doctor can come back for you, in whatever time. I thought you could stay here and we would have more time together." Jack felt Salazar's arms come around him, hesitantly, then harder. "I don't want you to go."

Jack buried his face in Salazar's hair. He was a bit taller than the other man, tall enough that he could envelope Salazar in his arms.

The last two and a half weeks had been a whirlwind of courting the very proper young man. Jack had barely managed to steal a few kisses here and there, but he treasured the companionship of the potions master. He had been alone for so long, since he had lost Ianto twenty years ago, and just having the companionship of someone who was interested, genuinely interested, in him was a comfort and a source of hope.

They had traded some stories over a drink Salaar had called Dragon's Whiskey, a strong alcohol that had Jack coughing and Salazar laughing at him. But he down the second sip without a problem. The drinking game had them both on the floor of the tavern, hip to hip, laughing at the ceiling.

He had learned that Salazar was an orphan, found on a beach, sunburned and salt crusted when he was barely a year old by an old wizard. He was taken in and, when old enough, taught the arts of magic. He had always know the wizard wasn't his kin. He had been told from his earliest memories that he was an unwanted child, so he would have to make his way in the world on his own. It was by the skin of his knuckles, his skills, and his determination that Salazar survived when the old wizard told him to pack his things when he was fifteen and head out.

In return, Jack had told Salazar about his first life, when he had been a child and he had lived in the Boeshane peninsula. About joining the agency when he was twenty and setting off on his own. About losing his brother, about his parents' horror and eventual deaths.

He hadn't shared his numerous loves and losses, his husbands and wives, his children. His immortality that never let him age. But he could. He might, if h stayed here. Salazar brought a kind of innocence back to him, something he hadn't felt in a long time. Ianto did the same, when he had been with him. A kin of honest love. Salazar hadn't loved anyone, not in a permanent kind of way. Could he really leave the young man he had come to treasure?

"Sal, I never age. I never look any older. I would look the same now as I would when you die, however far from now that may be."

Salazar sagged against him. "I don't care," he muttered fiercely. "I don't. I don't care if you look young forever, if I can only have you for a short while. If my life will only be a passing blink of yours. I just..." Salazar trailed off. "I just want you, for however long I can."

Jack breathed in deep, the scent of various herbs and smells that covered the potions master on a regular basis. "I...I might be able to stay. Sometimes. If I can get the Doctor to fix my vortex manipulator, I might be able to stay here, for a time."

Salazar pulled back, eyes wide. "Really?"

Jack smiled a sad smile. "Yes. I would be able to. I would be here, however often you want me here. I won't ever die, so it wouldn't be impossible."

"You can't die?" Salazar said, amazement filling his voice. "How?"

"it was an accident. But it isn't as much of a gift as you imagine. I've watched almost everyone I've ever loved die in front of my eyes, unable to stop it. From one thing or another, my loves have been taken from me. But for you, Sal, I would stay."

Salazar rocked on his feet, unsure how to take that. Jack had watched almost everyone he loved die and he was still willing to stay and watch him age, wither, and die. Could he do that to him? He didn't know, but he did know he didn't want to give up the fascinating, charming man just yet. "You would stay with me, knowing that you'll have to watch me...?" he couldn't finish the sentence.

Jack smiled. "I would." He waved an arm through the air. "And if I can get the vortex manipulator fixed, I could also make sure I see Harry as well, not miss him growing up too much without me." He huffed a laugh. "Though honestly, if the Doctor timed it right, he could pick me up the minute after he left, but the minute after you die. For me, decades later while for them, no time at all."

Salazar's eyes went wide. It was an impossible thing to imagine. "But you would be so different. you might not even remember them."

Jack shook his head. "No, I would remember them, because you can't just forget the Doctor, not so easily. Or Harry, Rose. They just create such an image in your mind, such a fascination, that you can't get rid of them."

Salazar nodded. "So, what are you going to do?"

Jack smiled. "I'll see if I can't work something out."

~~~~~This is a Scene Change~~~~~

"What do you think he'll do? Is he coming with us?" Rose asked softly.

the Doctor shrugged. "i don't know, honestly. It isn't like he has to worry about running into himself in this time. He can stay for however long he wants. He knows how to get a hold of us."

Harry looked up, eyes wide. "Uncle jack would stay?" he said, incredulous.

"He loves Salazar, Harry. That is a very good reason to stay here."

Godric blinked. "Loves? Really? But, they've only known each other for a couple weeks!"

"Love doesn't always take time to grow. And Jack is a very immediate person." rose shrugged. "It isn't hard to fall in love with him. He has that kind of aura. If I hadn't already been half mad for this guy, I might have let him sweep me off my feet all those years ago."

the Doctor snorted. "I distinctly remember some feet sweeping from him."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Well, I didn't see any romance from you at the time," she said pointedly.

"You were nineteen and naive. Call me old fashioned but how could I believe you were seriously in love with an alien with ears too big for his head and a guilt complex twice the size of Delta768?"

"Oi, I loved those ears, don't go insulting them," Rose said, shoving the Doctor gently. "ALways thought they looked rather fetching on you." The Doctor grinned, kissing Rose quickly. She giggled. "Besides, how could I not fall for the dashing hero who took me to see the stars and saved worlds and walked with me under hundred foot frozen waves?"

Harry groaned. "I would tell you to get a room but you two never listen. Can you at least wait until I can go to my room?" he complained. Rose laughed and opened her mouth to retort when they spotted Jack and Salazar heading back.

She could tell from the posture that Jack had made his decision and she sighed.

The Doctor noticed as well, and he looked at Godric. "Could you take Harry and go check on Rowena please?"

"Hey, I want to stay!" Harry protested.

The Doctor gave him a look. "I need to talk to Jack without the emotional influence of you right now. I need to make sure he has made the choice he wants and you'll sway his mind just by being present. i want what is best for everyone, and Jack could do with someone who wants him."

Harry frowned but nodded. He turned to Godric. "Alright. I've already given Salazar my approval, so I might as well go and see if my error has been corrected while Jack convinces my dad he should stay here instead of coming with us." He tugged Godric up the stairs. "And you might just taunt Salazar, so you might as well come with me."

Godric couldn't argue and he let himself be taken up the stairs, wondering when it was he lost any sense of control he might have had. He wasn't even sure what was going on anymore.

"You're gonna stay, aren't you?" Rose asked softly.

Jack blinked, stunned, before he smiled. "Should have known you would know Rosie. Always knowing everything."

"This is what you wanna do Jack?" the Doctor asked. "You can change your mind, but this would be the best time to leave, if you aren't sure."

Jack clenched his hand tight. "Yes. I want to...I want to stay somewhere for a little while. I need to." He breathed deeply. "I need some time to let go of my past. Here is a good place to do it." He smiled over at Salazar.

Rose grinned slyly. "Are you sure it isn't for this handsome young man here?" she teased. Salazar flushed.

"Stop teasing him Rosie. I'm working on loosening that stiff spine he has. No ned to give him a defensive complex."

"Are you going to come back?" the Doctor said quietly.

"I was hoping you could help me with that." He held up his wrist, the sleeve falling to reveal the leather band that held his Vortex manipulator. "Maybe fix this up so I can make it back to you."

"That's dangerous Jack. You know why I deactivated it."

Jack waved a hand. "Then make it so I can't go anywhere else but the Tardis at a certain point in time. Put some restrictions on it. I'm not going to leave you to raise Harry by yourself, I just..."

Rose laid a hand on his shoulder. "I know. You need some time away from it all. I heard you spent a good few weeks getting drunk after the incident. Have you had a rest since then? Somewhere without time travel, aliens, or responsibilities?" Jack shook his head mutely. "Then i think it's about time you took one, yeah?"

"When did you get so wise Rosie?" Jack said, huffing a laugh.

"About the same time I got over my phase of throwing darts at the Doctor's photo," she said matter of factly.

Jack sorted, coughed, then laughed. "Darts?" he managed to say.

"Darts. Sometimes on fire, sometimes with small explosives rigged to them. sometimes with a paper eating acid fixed to the point. But hey, I was rather destructive. But it took me about thirty years. Take your time."

Salazar started as she rounded on him, eyes blazing. He held his hands up in defense, unsure how this woman, smaller than him by a good deal and slighter than he could appear so intimidating. "I...yes?" he stuttered.

"You take care of him. If anything happens to him and I find out you were the source of the problem, you won't like the consequences."

Salazar nodded, believing her fully.

"Oi, stop it!" Jack protested. Rose shrugged, unconcerned with Jack's irritating.

"I look out for my friends," she said simply.

"I might be able to fix the destination for your manipulator, set it within the Tardis. It would sally be impossible to fix it for a time within the Tardis, but I have a point of reference I can use."

Rose tapped her lip. "Harry?" she guessed.

"Correctamundo. Harry has a unique energy pattern. I can set it to his current pattern, tweak it just a bit so he won't show up right after we leave, a couple months later, and then it should do the trick." The Doctor looked at Jack, eyes serious. "This is a one way trip Jack. Once you take it, you can't go back. You must be certain when you press that button that you want to come back."

Jack nodded and he could feel Salazar vibrating beside him. the younger man was tense with energy. He laid a hand on Salazar's shoulder. "Think you can deal with me around for a little while?" he asked softly.

Salazar nodded, resolute. Jack grinned.

"How are you going to do that little bit of jiggery pokery Doctor?" Rose asked.

The Doctor looked up the staircase. "Harry, you wanna come down and lend a hand?" he asked.

Jack's head whipped around and Harry sheepishly descended, running his hand through his hair. "Sorry," he said, not really sounding apologetic.

"How much did you hear?" his father asked.

Harry shrugged. "I went up with Godric, then slipped out of the room. I wanted to know what was going on. I thought uncle Jack might be staying." Harry half grinned at his uncle.

"Harry..." Jack said softly.

harry waved a hand, forestalling anything he might have said. "I guessed. I mean, you don't always put time into your flirting. Most of the time it's perfunctory, but I watched you two. You're always in the potions lab with me, so it wasn't hard to see."

"I won't be gone long," Jack said.

Harry grinned. "For me, no. For you, well, you might be here for a while. But I agree with Rose. You should have some time to yourself. Time with someone who cares for you in a way we can't." Harry gestured at his dad, Rose and himself.

Jack stepped over to Harry, then picked the boy up and hugged him tight. "Thank you Harry. Thank you," he whispered. Harry hugged him back. It was a few moments later before Harry's feet touched the ground. He straightened his clothes out, then looked at his dad.

"So, what do you need me for? I know some kind of energy tracer, but how can I help?"

The Doctor held out a hand for Jack's vortex manipulator. Jack handed it over. "I'm going to tune this into your energy wavelength, at your precise age. I need you to place your hand over it and channel your magic into your hand. Not into the manipulator, that would overpower the electronics, just your hand. I need to use the trace amounts to fix the signal."

Harry nodded, then placed his hand over the leather strap, frowning in concentration. His hand began to glow just a bit. The Doctor lifted the sonic screwdriver and started adjusting it rapidly, then releasing small bursts of sound and light. Harry felt his magic reacting and it sank into the base components of the manipulator. he sighed, letting his hand fall. His dad took the manipulator back, fiddling with it for a few more moments before handing it to Jack.

"Here, it's now attached to Harry's energy signature and programmed to leap about a month into his future. One time charge, so don't waste it. You'll fry it when you make the jump, but it'll get you there safely."

Jack nodded. "Thanks Doctor, Harry, Rose." He looked at the faces of the people who had become his family. "Thank you."

There was a moment where the silence was palpable, then the Doctor jumped towards the stairs, waving his hands around.

"Alright, now that we're done with the emotional bit, let's go make sure Rowena's doing okay! Then off we go!" Harry followed his dad up the stairs.

Rose laughed, looking back at Jack and Salazar with a small, pleased smile. "I'll be waiting for your stories and adventures Jack," she said with a wink. Salazar flushed again as Jack chortled.

"We'll see Rosie."

~~~~~~~ This is an ending~~~~~~~~

There you go!

To all my anon reviewers and those who have PM turned off, thank you so much! All of you reviewers and readers make writing this so much fun!

Characters have a habit of doing what they want without actually consulting me. Hope it worked out well ^_^`

Thank you!

Kuroi


	15. In Which a Kidnapping and Arthur occur

So...yeah. Real life invaded. And writer's block. This chapter sat at 5000 words for three months before I figured out where I was going with it.

I drew some inspiration from two Doctor Who novels I recently read, "Genocide" and "The Longest Day", both in the 8th Doctor's run. I recommend "genocide over "The Longest Day" if only because there aren't as many spelling errors. (Whoever was suppose to edit the second one failed at their job. Spectacularly).

Since there's a ton of debate over Arthur, I just went with what I wanted to write with him. Yes, I've read Malory (the original, which was PAINFUL to get through in some places) as well as The actual supposed source, Geoffrey of Monmouth's writings and a couple other middle english sources, along with plenty of fantasy books on either Merlin and/or Arthur. I just took pieces I liked and used them. Any inconsistencies with original myths are my own.

Anyway, you've waited long enough. Here's the next chapter!

~~~~This is a Beginning~~~~~

Harry was sitting in the garden when his dad found him, twirling a flower and staring at nothing, eyes unfocused. The Doctor eased down next to him, not saying a word. Harry knew he was there. The Doctor could wait him out.

There was silence for a few moments, then Harry turned and buried his face in the Doctor's jacket. There was a muffled sob, then Harry fell silent.

"It's alright Harry. Jack'll be back before you know it. Promise."

"I know, I know. It's just, he chose to stay there. For years. It might only be a little while here, for us, but he's leaving us for years." Harry looked up at his father. "Why would he do that?"

The Doctor sighed, hugged Harry to him. "Sometimes, people need to escape from something. Not you, never you Harry, don't worry. No, but Jack did something that he regrets and he's never really had time to just escape from it."

Harry frowned. "But he's living here. With us. He has for a while now. Isn't that a kind of escape?"

"In a way, but it doesn't help that I might be part of the reason for why Jack believes he had to do what he did. In a far corner of his mind, Jack probably still holds me somewhat responsible for not showing up to help. He might know it's irrational, but that doesn't mean he doesn't think it."

"I don't understand."

The Doctor smiled. "Alright, I might as well start at the beginning." The Doctor looked behind him, where Rose was hesitating at the door. "You can come in too, if you want."

Rose took the opportunity and walked over, sitting next to the Doctor and Harry, laying a hand on the Doctor's shoulder. Harry scooted over so he was sitting between the two. The Doctor laughed at Rose's astonished expression. "Hello Harry," she said, voice faint.

Harry grinned. "Hey Rose. Hope you don't mind."

"No. Not at all."

"Alright, now that we're all settled, story time. Sometime in the 1960's Earth time, the British government was contacted by a race of aliens they identified as the 456 because of the frequency they used to transmit the message. With a threat to the entire global populace at stake, they ordered Jack, currently working for Torchwood, to cave to their demands and bring them twelve children. The children were taken and never seen again." Harry's eyes went wide and Rose's hand covered her mouth.

"What for? Why did Jack do it?"

"If he hadn't someone else would have. He believed he had no other choice, and I'm sure by that time he had become somewhat jaded. If you live for too long, it happens. In any case, they didn't hear anything from the 456 after the children vanished, so they assumed the aliens had left and they were safe. Until they came again, in 2010. And this time, they demanded far more children, with similar consequences as before."

"How many?"

"From what Jack told me, a tenth of each country's total child population."

"Oh my god," Rose breathed, stunned.

"That's insane," Harry said, hands fisted in his shirt. "Doing that...it violates almost every galactic code the Shadow Proclamation."

"It seems that they didn't care. They were willing to follow up on the promise of mass extermination if the human governments didn't give in. Jack found out the hard way. His lover at the time paid the ultimate price in this discovery. Jack, to prevent the children from being given up, turned the frequency back on the 456, effectively killing them. But he had to send the frequency through a child."

"But, the amount of power that would require, the child, they wouldn't..."

The Doctor nodded grimly. "Indeed. The child didn't. But Jack didn't just use any child. He used his grandson. His daughter, well, I'm sure that didn't go over well. Jack left Earth on the next interstellar ship he could hop onto. I found him about three weeks after he had found a permanent seat at a bar. I'm sure he would have drunk himself to death if he could, but that doesn't work out well for him. So he did the next best thing and tried to drink the memory away. Also not very effective. The bartender was grateful I took him, despite the fact that Jack could have paid for the entire bar. Good man."

Harry's eyes were stuck open, shocked. "So, uncle Jack, he, he had to kill his own grandson to protect the rest of the Earth's kids?" The Doctor nodded. "That, that sucks. I thought he had just had a really bad day when you brought him home."

"There was a reason I didn't want to tell you Harry. It isn't a pleasant thing. For Jack, now is his chance to take a break from it all, escape it, in essence."

Harry nodded, leaning back against the Doctor and Rose. "I think I understand." Harry grinned. "I bet Hogwarts will love him."

Rose shook her head. "If he knows what's good for him he won't cause too many problems. He may not be able to die but he doesn't have magic. And those founders are wily ones."

"Jack can take care of himself and you can gossip about it when he gets back." Harry and Rose looked at the Doctor. "Now, there's a few things that we need to go over Harry. Things that I now have access to on the Tardis."

Harry blinked, confused, then his face paled and he jumped to his feet and raced for the console room. Rose laughed.

"HARRY!"

~~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~

Harry was excited to see Merlin, though for a different reason from before. He had been taught some magical theory and even a few ways to manipulate his magic so it wasn't just blind will directing his energy. He was excited because he wanted to tell Merlin what he knew and everything else that had transpired at the Founders. Merlin had gone to school when the Founders were teaching, he might have known uncle Jack. He couldn't wait to ask him.

The Doctor knew how excited Harry was and, after a few days of making Harry sit and wait, mostly cramming enough temporal theory from books on the Tardis into Harry's brain that he wouldn't be trying to create anymore rifts in the near future, he gave in and programmed them to land near Camelot, or what was known as Camelot, and Merlin. Hopefully the Doctor got the dates right this time.

Rose accompanied Harry to the door, the Doctor right behind them, long jacket in hand. Harry had just cracked the door when he was greeted by a familiar, if older, face.

"Merlin!"

"Well hello there Harry. And not that far off, five years later. It seems you have fixed whatever you had incorrect before."

The Doctor poked his head out. "Ah, Emrys! Lovely seeing you. We made it then?"

"I dare say. Though you have a lovely young woman with you, but no Jack, I see. Though after remembering my Hogwarts days, I dare say I know why. He was ever the interesting party in potions." Merlin's eyes twinkled in amusement and Harry could guess what his uncle might have done. He rolled his eyes.

"Ah, so you do remember good old Jack. How was he doing?"

"Splendid, though, from what I understand, I arrived at Hogwarts within a year of you leaving, if the chaos you left behind is any indication. I wondered why I didn't remember before when I saw you, but time has some interesting effects." Merlin smiled at them all, then gestured. "You must meet my pupil, Prince Arthur. I believe you might get along famously, if you can temper his attitude."

Harry's eyes widened. "Prince Arthur?" he breathed. "Like the one in the legends?"

The Doctor laughed and Rose laid a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Those are stories later generations make up about him, but I bet he was still a great prince."

Harry grinned. "Sounds fantastic!" Then he raced off, bare feet slapping the ground.

Merlin chuckled. "Harry will do Arthur some good. The youngling will put him in his place, I am sure."

"Is Arthur really that much of a problem?" Rose asked.

Merlin shrugged. "I believe he was raised with some hitherto unseen notions as to his station. It has given him airs, though I don't doubt young Harry will be able to put him in his place, despite the five year age gap."

Rose grinned. "I'm sure. Now, is there anyplace we can bring the Doctor before he starts an in-depth analysis of the mortar via his tongue?" Rose asked, gesturing at the Doctor with her thumb. The Doctor was inspecting the walls, murmuring in a soft undertone and running his hands up and down it.

Merlin nodded. "I believe my accommodations will be large enough to suffice for the moment. If there is need, we can find an empty suite within the castle that should suit your needs."

Rose laughed. "Another castle. It seems we've fallen in love with them."

"Unfortunately this castle is not insulated against the cold, so it will be drafty at night. I haven't quite convinced the king to allow me to enchant the castle as such. He believes that one should tough it out. Though of course my chambers are kept quite warm." Blue eyes twinkled.

Rose laughed. "You sly magician," she said. Merlin tapped his nose, grinning.

The Doctor wandered over, grinning. "Rose, did you know that this castle was built using stone from a quarry on the other side of the island! Amazing!"

"Do I want to know how you figured that out?" she asked.

The Doctor looked affronted. "There's nothing wrong with tasting something to test the composition. The tongue is far more sensitive than the fingers when it comes to detailed work on stone composites."

"Yes, I'm sure that's the reason why you must lick everything."

The Doctor opened his mouth to say something in his defense when Merlin stepped in. "Now now, let's get going. I'm sure Harry's managed to find Arthur and wherever Arthur and someone with strong opinions are is usually trouble. I'll show you to my quarters and then go sort out the disaster they have no doubt created."

~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~

Harry had taken off without actually knowing anything about the castle he was now running through. Though castles couldn't be that different, could they? Hogwarts was a magical, sentient castle and he managed to find his way around there.

Though he supposed that might be because he was able to communicate with the castle. Here, well, he was wandering down empty, drafty corridors, searching for the elusive Prince Arthur.

Which was how he managed to run straight into someone, head bumping against their chest, without having seen them beforehand. With an exhale of air, he managed to keep his feet, which was better than the person he had run into, who fell to the ground, landing in what might be called a sprawling position.

Harry ran a hand through his hair sheepishly. "Er, sorry about that. Wasn't watching where I was going. Didn't see you." He looked over the person he had hit. Shortish blonde hair, blue eyes, a well muscled frame and finely crafted, if now rumpled, clothes, on a boy he guessed was a bit older than him.

"You should pay more attention," was the haughty response.

Harry raised an eyebrow. And had an attitude. "Well, it takes two to crate an accident. Wasn't just me. You should have watched out as well."

"I don't need to watch out for people. That's their job."

"You won't get far in life with that attitude. Imagine if you walked around with a blindfold on your eyes for the rest of your life. Wouldn't see anything. How boring." Harry shrugged. "I'd rather see things."

"Anything important is shown to me. Why should I pay attention to anything else?"

"Because what's important differs by person. I knew someone who really liked pretty fabrics, but could care less about the food she ate. If someone didn't put it in front of her, she wouldn't eat at all. I would think that would be important. You can't always rely on someone to show you what's important. That's just stupid."

"Who are you calling stupid?" the boy roared, jumping to his feet, hand going to the sword at his waist.

Harry raised placating hands. "I was just pointing out that if you let other people see for you, you aren't doing a very good job of being a person."

"I'm the crown prince!"

"Arthur? You're Prince Arthur?" Harry looked the boy up and down again, now judging him more properly. "Well, you don't quite live up to the legends. I was hoping for some good old fashioned Earth style courtesy and maybe some sword swinging, but you're just rude."

The boy's eyes went wide. "Who are you to say such things to me! I'm the crown prince and...you, you aren't even wearing proper clothes! What is that, some fashion from the other side of the sea?"

Harry looked down at his attire. He had chosen to wear his favorite shiny green shirt and loose black pants that tied at the waist but didn't hamper his ability to move. "Well, they're comfortable. Why would I want to wear something that was uncomfortable? That just sounds silly." Harry gestured at the prince's clothing. "I mean, what you're wearing looks way too tight. How do you run in that?"

"Run in this? No, this is to show my status." The purple shirt was embroidered with delicate gold dragons rearing up on the shoulders. His trousers, 'breeches' Harry reminded himself, were black and tide at the waist and ankle and tight to his frame. His shoes were impractical soft soled, lacey things.

"That's a silly way to show status. Anyone can wear fancy clothes."

Arthur frowned. "These are specially designed for the royal family. Only our seamstress has the patterns for the Pendragon crest."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Anyone who looked at that long enough could copy it without much problem. Especially with magic. Then what?"

Harry could tell the question had stumped him and grinned. Arthur glared. "How old are you anyway, talking like this? You aren't noble but you know enough about magic. I mean, you look little but you can't be that much younger than me."

Harry shrugged. "I think I'm eight. Most likely."

"Really? Eight? But that...that's four years younger than me!"

"So? At least I'm not a brat."

"Why do you insist on calling me that? You don't have the status or the age."

Harry shrugged. "So what? Your status doesn't exempt you from being a brat."

"Just who are you? You never told me you name."

"Oh, I'm Harry, nice to meet you. My dad and Rose are here too, probably with Merlin. He's gonna teach me."

The prince blinked. "Merlin? Merlin's teaching you too?"

"Yep. Do you have magic? I didn't think Prince Arthur had magic"

"No, I don't have magic, he's just teaching me, well, I think he's trying to make me a better ruler. Though he's a weird teacher. Makes me do all these weird tasks that don't seem to do anything. It's frustrating. I'm supposed to be learning how to rule a country not counting the number of toads in the nearest pond and collecting toadstools."

Harry laughed. "Sounds like he's trying to teach you important lessons. Besides, what's so bad about toads?"

"They're boring!"

"You sound like a joy. Well, anyway, let's see. You can keep wearing that, but I bet it'll be more interesting to wear more comfortable clothes. And we can go down to the market. You have to have a market at a castle like this!"

"Well, yeah, but it's usually busy. I can't go down without an entourage."

"You don't walk like a prince. Put a hat on, some plain clothes and no one will know the difference. And I want to see the market."

"In bare feet?"

"So what? I don't like shoes."

"You're weird Harry. Are you like Merlin, with magic and all?"

Harry nodded. "Yep! And he's supposed to teach me too, so I guess I might be counting frogs with you soon enough."

"Wow, that would be weird. Well, I guess. I mean, if I don't look like the prince I guess it can't really be a problem. Come on, I can change in my chambers."

Arthur gestured for Harry to follow him and they walked down flagstone halls and up a few flights of stairs before Arthur opened wooden doors into a modest sized stone room and went for a chest. He rifled through it for a minute, talking to Harry in the meantime. "So, aren't you sorta young to be learning magic?"

"Well, normally, but I've got too much magic, so they want to make sure I don't do something dangerous with it. Some control is better than none."

Arthur nodded. "Yeah. It's the same with swords. If you can't use it properly, then you shouldn't have one. But I guess you can't just take magic away."

"No, it doesn't work like that. You have to learn how it works so you don't hurt anyone."

"Alright. Now, do these work then?" Arthur turned, holding up a white shirt with a dragon emblazoned on the corner.

"No. No signs of your rank. Completely plain."

Arthur sighed. "How did you get so bossy at such a young age?"

"Comes from having to argue with a genius father," Harry replied, a half smirk flitting across his face.

"Genius? What does that mean?"

"Oh, right. Well, it means someone who is really smart. Beyond the ordinary level of intelligence. Merlin is a genius, and you'll meet my dad soon, who is probably the most genius genius." Harry smiled. "He taught me everything I know."

Arthur nodded. "So, are you a genius?"

Harry's eyes went wide. "Oh, no, no. I mean, not that I know. Can't outsmart my dad unless I use magic, and that's only 'cause he doesn't have any. But he's the one who solves all the problems." Harry waved his hands in front of him.

"Well, that isn't really a fair testing ground. If your dad's such a "genius genius" then you wouldn't know if you were a genius would you?" Arthur pulled out a tannish shirt from the bottom of his chest, holding it up for Harry's inspecting eye. "This work?"

"Perfect. And tro-breeches that are plain too. And plain shoes. Nothing fancy, Arthur. I bet none of your people have seen you without fancy clothing so they wouldn't know you without it."

Arthur sighed, knowing the truth in those words was probably another slight against his character. His dad would never be able to do this without being seen as the king. He wondered what that said about him.

"Don't forget about a hat, Arthur. I bet people only know you for a prince cause of your hair. it's rather shiny."

Arthur groaned but did go and dig up an old hat. "You are rather annoying."

"I've heard similar things." Harry grinned. "

"Whatever you think about it, no eight year old I've ever met is as smart as you."

"Just get dressed Arthur. I wanna go see the market."

"It's probably not nearly as interesting as you seem to think it is."

"Just get dressed."

Arthur struggled into old training clothes he wasn't aware he still had until his perusal of the bottom of his chest before he led Harry out of his rooms and down winding sets of stairs. Harry, the little magic user that had, in under a candlemark, called him a brat, ignored his station, and was getting him to go down to the castle market without an escort. If he didn't know better, he would have said Harry used magic on him but Harry didn't really know magic. Merlin was going to teach him. It was still odd. How did an eight year old manage to get him to do anything?

"Arthur? Arthur?" the prince heard Harry's voice filtering through his thoughts. A hand was latched onto his shirt, stopping his forward momentum. "You're about to run into the wall. Are you okay?"

Arthur blinked. Sure enough, less than a foot in front of him, was a wall, the archway he was aiming for a good foot to the left. "Oh, uh, thanks Harry. I wasn't..."Arthur trailed off at Harry's grin, both amused and scary. "Are you okay?"

"Perfect! So, are we heading down to the market or what?"

Arthur gave Harry another once over, before he through the archway and down the last flight of steps to the exit. "It's this way."

~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~

"Alright, so where would Arthur be?" Rose asked, having made use of the chamber pot in the corner of the room Merlin had shown them to.

Merlin furrowed his brow. "According to the ward I have on the castle, Arthur isn't inside it anymore. Which is strange, because his personal guards are."

"You can do that?" the Doctor said, standing up from his inspection of the ground. "Tell where everyone in the castle is?"

Merlin smiled. "As long as I've tied everyone's basic aura into the ward. I use it mostly for the King, Prince Arthur, and their personal staff. It helps me figure out where they are and what's going on. I have a special ward set for important visiting dignitaries and other magic users. Which reminds me, Harry isn't in the castle either."

Rose frowned. "Where could they be?"

"Oh, knowing Harry he's managed to rope your pupil into grand adventures of some sort and we will hear the panicked screams in about half an hour."

"You use odd words, though I gather that it shouldn't be hard to find them soon enough."

Rose sighed. "Harry is well known to cause chaos wherever he goes. I'm sure you saw the results of some of his haphazard creations while you were at Hogwarts. Namely Rowena's chambers."

Merlin's eyes went wide, then he nodded absently. "Yes, I do remember that particular room. Rowena no longer occupied it by the time I was at Hogwarts and it was off limits to students under 17 or in her specific courses. I snuck in once, I was an impulsive child, and spent the better part of a year rapidly de-aging or aging. I believe Jack found some amusement in the situation that Professor Rowena did not find. I never did get the story though."

Rose laughed. "Trust Harry to cause problems long after he's left." She looked at the Doctor. "We could probably blame that on you though, Doctor. Your penchant for causing mayhem is almost unparalleled."

The Doctor looked affronted. "Almost? I'll have you know that I named an entire galaxy Alison and nearly caused it to implode on the same day."

"Yes, but I have yet to see you manage to start a Time Shift, disrupt the gravity field of an entire base on a dead planet, or break into and rewrite the security files from the highest form of government the universe as a whole will ever see into, what was it, badly written fan-stories from the galactic nebula's intergalactic network hub?"

"Those are juvenile pranks I will not be associated with," was the haughty response. "Harry's blunders were those of someone who had limited knowledge and access to magic."

Rose laughed, hands pressed to her mouth to stifle the noise. Merlin raised bushy eyebrows. "I see I shall have a most peculiar student. Though I should have known, remembering him as a young toddler."

The Doctor furrowed his brow. "Well, until we run into Harry one way or the other, we're gonna have to search for him. On foot, it seems. So if he's not in the castle, I would bet he's run off to see whatever entertainment is around, or shopping. For a child, he really likes shopping. I don't know why, it really isn't that interesting. Just stuff, lots of stuff, laying on shelves and waiting for someone to spend currency on them." The Doctor frowned. "But he does enjoy it. So...market, where's the market?" His finger pointed at Merlin.

Merlin laughed. "This will be fun!" The wizard adjusted his clothing, settling a cloak on his back, before grabbing a stave sitting by the door. "It is..."

Muffled shouts of panic and anger filtered in through the window. "I take it that the market is that way?" Rose guessed, pointed out the window and towards the source of the noise.

Merlin frowned. "Indeed, which is concerning."

The Doctor waved his hands. "Harry's in the vicinity. I would be more worried if we didn't hear screaming."

"Strange way to see it."

"You get used to it after a while. Like father like son." Rose shrugged. "Lead the way?"

Merlin nodded and they swept out of the room, heading towards the shouting.

~~~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~~

Arthur led Harry out of the central courtyard, trying to keep his head low so as not to attract the attention of the surrounding guards. That was last thing he wanted, an entourage. The idea of being able to do what he wanted on his own had always been a source of desire for him. He was either confined to the castle or accompanied by one or more knights when he left, so this escape was one that he was now relishing in.

And it seemed that Harry's clothing idea was working. With his blonde hair hidden under a hat and clothes no prince would ever be seen in off the training field, Arthur was as invisible as the stable boy.

Harry...was not so. Rather, the small, black haired menace was wide eyed and talking a mile a minute about everything. The guards would look at him curiously, passers-by would point and whisper, and Harry was perfectly oblivious to it.

"I've been inside castles before, you know. I mean, Hogwarts is a castle to, and there was this castle on a cliff that was pretty awesome, and dad says he's gonna take me to the Tower of London when it was still being used for a castle, but those are the only castles on Earth I've been too. Though in Japan there are these really magnificent temples and royal palaces that you could compare to castles, and in India they have some magnificent palaces! In AD7890 Australia's whole desert is terraformed into an oasis and they build a kilometers high tower that reaches almost to the edge of breathable atmosphere and you can see the Local Inter-System Hub from there. It's also supposed to be the platform for the best sky diving this side of the Galactic Universal Divide. I haven't convinced dad yet that I should try it. He keeps saying I need to wait until I'm older and my body can handle it." Harry pouted at this thought. Arthur wondered what Australia was and how one could skydive. It sounded dangerous.

"What is sky diving Harry?" he asked, venturing to satiate his curiosity.

Harry grinned, delighted. "It's the coolest thing ever! Aside from Anti-gravity games and teleporting tricks, that is. But skydiving is going to the highest point you can, you usually use something that can bring you several thousand meters into the sky, and then you jump out of it. You have something to slow you down so you don't hit the ground too hard. When you release it, it fills with air so you glide to the ground, like a leaf."

"I can see why your dad doesn't want you to do it until you're older. It sounds dangerous. Why would you want to jump out of a flying machine? Isn't it really cool to be flying already?"

"Well, yeah, but when you fall from so high up, it's fantastic." Harry grinned, jumping on the balls of his feet as he walked.

Arthur shook his head. The whole idea sounded insane to him. He had seen people fall off the highest tower and die hitting the ground. It never looked pretty. Going any farther up and doing it on purpose sounded like insanity.

The entrance to the lower part of the castle grounds was just ahead, and Arthur walked out without anyone the wiser. Harry waved cheerily to the guards, who raised bemused eyebrows at the boy. Arthur shook his head. Harry was odd.

"Look 'thur there's the market!" Harry bounced, pointing at the stalls just ahead. They lined the sides of the streets, selling fabrics, spices, foods, and nik-naks.

"Yeah. It's the biggest for leagues around. We're known for having the best trade between the northern part of the kingdom and the southern." Harry dashed off, wanting to rifle through whatever he could. Arthur wondered if he had money to pay for it, his clothing didn't appear to have any place for a coin pouch, but was shocked when Harry dipped his hand into his pants and pulled out a handful of small, round coins.

Then he furrowed his brow. "'thur, need some help here." Arthur frowned at the mispronunciation of his name again and was about to correct him when he stopped, realizing why Harry had said it wrong. With a smile, he headed over to what he realized was a sweets stand.

"What's wrong Harry?"

Harry held out his palm, which was filled with an assortment of small, various shaped object. "I don't know which one's your kind of currency. I mean, not these, these are from Frugalin 7V/Apple, these are pounds from late British currency, and I think this is from a colony on Mars." Arthur watched as the little, round, icicle-colored balls were returned to a pocket, alongside some deep red triangles and hefty silver and gold coins. What were left were still an odd mixture of shapes.

"Well, I don't know what this is," Arthur said, pointing at the green snowflake things. "And this is definitely not money like I know it. Now this." Harry took away the purple squares and crumpled white paper balls. What was left was an assortment of semi-normal looking coins. "I think this is gold, right?"

Harry picked up the aforementioned coin and peered at it closely before he licked it. "Yeah, gold. I think it's from a meteor in the Kupier Belt, but it's gold."

"Judging by the size and weight, it should be able to buy you whatever you need here. The stall owner would know better how much it's worth."

Harry grinned, shoving the rest of the strange currency in his pocket. "Thanks 'Thur." Then he turned around and presented the gold coin to the woman. "Here. What can I get with this?"

When the coin dropped into her hand, the woman's eyes went wide. "This...this is solid gold. At least a season's worth of merchandise! I can't accept this from you! It's too much!"

Harry frowned. "Really? But, it's money here, right? I mean, I can use it. I just want a couple of those sweet cakes and a few fruits. Is it not enough?"

Arthur laid a hand on his shoulder. "I think she means it's too much, Harry. She doesn't have enough money to pay you back."

"Really? Well, in that case, you can keep whatever's left. I just wanted some sweets," Harry said, smiling.

The woman looked shocked, surprise in her dark blue eyes. "Really? Are you sure?"

Harry waved a hand. "It's fine. The mines in the Kupier belt last a millenia. Did you know that by AD5000 gold is so common that there are entire buildings made of solid gold? They have to keep it cool there, otherwise the whole thing would melt, but it's really shiny."

Arthur blinked. "You're joking. There is no such thing."

"Not yet. At least, not in this quadrant of the galaxy." Harry shrugged. Arthur decided that he was insane and anything he said was to be ignored. Magic, he decided, did strange things to someone's mind.

Harry was given as many sweets as he wanted, and when he had taken the five or so he had originally chosen, the woman tried to give him more. Harry waved her off. "Nah, can't eat more than this. My digestion can't handle anymore honey than the small amount in these pastries. I'm using the phytochemicals in the fruits to help my metabolism and digestion. It balances out the glucose intake. Unlike my father, I am not good with sweets. Love them, I just have to be careful with what I eat."

"I didn't understand half the words you just used," Arthur said as they walked away from the sweets vendor.

Harry blinked, then sighed. "I sometimes forget when I am. We don't end up in a time so underdeveloped as often as you would think."

Arthur was trying to figure out if that was an insult or not when shouts and screams came from up ahead. Before he could even react, Harry had dashed off in that direction.

"HARRY! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT'S UP THERE!" Arthur groped for his sword, but when his hand fumbled in empty air he cursed. He didn't have a weapon and, as far as he knew, neither did Harry. Where were the gate guards? What was the screaming? Well, he wasn't going to find out standing around like an idiot so he booked it after his new friend.

Despite the significant height difference he had on Harry, he was hard pressed to find the small boy in the crowd of increasingly curious and panicked people. Some were trying to flee while others were trying to get closer. It made finding a small child rather difficult.

That is, until he heard Harry's voice ring out over the crowd, indignant but as forceful as his father could be.

"I'm fairly certain that this is the 10th century of Earth's history and it's currently classified as a level 2 planet. Maybe level 1. On which laser technology is nowhere to be found. Which begs the question as to where you managed to get your hands on it. Judging by your appearance, you're a band of knights, though your armor is mesh nanotubes rather than steal and I think those horses are mechanical, lovely design, which indicates a rather high technology level. Somewhere in the 7 or 8 range. Which means you really don't belong on this planet." Arthur pushed his way through the last few people between him and Harry's voice and came to a stuttering halt.

Harry, tiny little Harry, was standing in front of a group of six horsed knights all carrying what appeared to be swords, though they looked nothing like any sword he had ever seen. Their armor was a dark grey, much darker than anything he had encountered, and the horses were pitch black, with black eyes and manes. It was unsettling to look at them. "Harry," he said, "what's going on here?"

Harry spun to look at him. "Ah, Arthur, there you are. I was wondering where you had wandered off to. I was just trying to figure out who these rather intrusive and unfriendly people are. Human, humanoid, machine, something else? They are wonderfully silent." Harry gestured at the riders. "Not much for conversation."

Arthur boggled. "Wha...huh?"

"For a prince you're rather slow. Look around. They did a number on your market place when they entered and they even scattered the entertainers. I was looking forward to the entertainers."

Arthur blinked, then looked around himself. Stalls were cut cleanly in half, charred black and smoldering. People were huddling behind buildings and in doorways, wanting to see what was going on but not willing to get injured in the process. Only Harry and Arthur had dared remain so close to the intruders. "Where are the guards?" Arthur asked in an undertone.

Harry grimaced. "I've been afraid to contemplate that. If the main gate guards aren't here, we can only assume the worst has happened. I hope they've just been knocked unconscious." Harry turned back to the knights. Were they even knights? Arthur didn't know anymore. "What happened to the armed guards at the front gates? You had to have passed through them to get here, I don't see any kind of anti-gravity technology included in your fancy kit, though you never know, those hooves could be packed with tons of it." Harry scrutinized the horses feet. "Hmmm..."

"Arthur Pendragon, son of Uther Pendragon and Ygraine, sibling to Morgan le Fay, Morgana, pupil of Merlin Emrys Mryddin, Once and Future King of Albion, we have come for you."

Harry looked between the knights and Arthur, eyebrow raised, before he sighed. "Unfortunately, you can't have him. Sorry. He's sorta important to history. Timelines to preserve and all. I mean, can't just go snatching historical figures whenever you want. For one, my dad would get all sorts of angry. That isn't fun to see."

"Harry, what are you talking about? What are they talking about? Who is this Morgan le Fay and Morgana? I don't understand." Harry laid a hand on Arthur's shoulder, looking him straight in the eyes. Arthur hadn't realized until right now just how green Harry's eyes were.

"Arthur, you are important. More than as the heir to the throne of Camelot. There is much of history riding on you. There are all sorts of people in the universe who would love to see you vanish right out of that history." Harry's eyes were serious. Arthur gulped. Just who was Harry?

"We have come for Arthur Pendragon. The Child of Time is not our purpose. Hand over Arthur Pendragon."

"Oi, hold on. What do you mean, Child of Time?"

"You. You are the Child of Time. Are you not the child of the sentient being known as the Tardis?" Harry blinked, nonplussed. "We require Arthur Pendragon, Child of Time."

"Well...Well, you can't have him!" Harry spluttered, trying to gather the scattered composure he had previously carried so well.

"This is not your decision. You have no power to stop us. You carry no significant technological devices on you, we have scanned."

Arthur watched this back and forth, uncertain. Something the weird knights had said threw Harry off his game. The boy was unbalanced and Arthur didn't know what to do about it.

He didn't have to worry too much longer. Another voice rang out above the hush of the crowd.

"Ah, well, hello there. Lovely seeing you. Android creations, wow. Bit anachronistic, aren't you? Tad out of your time?" Arthur watched Harry's panicked expression melt into one of confidence, relief, and relaxation. So that voice was Harry's dad.

"Um, Harry's dad, we're over here." Arthur spun to see a tall, spiky haired man in a long brown cape with sleeves and strange breeches stride over in red and white shoes. Behind him was a young woman with dark blond hair and...Merlin. Arthur gulped. Uh-oh.

"Ah, hello. You must be Arthur Pendragon! Thought we would find you wherever Harry was. Glad we were right. I'm the Doctor, also known as Harry's dad. Either works. Now then, let's sort out these androids."

"Um, Doctor? They called Harry something weird." The Doctor looked down at him, eyebrows raised. "They called him the Child of Time or something." The Doctor went rigid, eyes flashing. "If that helps?"

"It does," the Doctor murmured. "It most certainly does. Well then, at least I know the origin of these androids."

"You do?" the pretty woman asked.

"Oh yes. There aren't many beings in the universe who actually know about Harry, about who he is. And among those, well, what he is isn't well known either. But there is one race or other that would love to get their hands on him."

Arthur frowned. "But, they didn't want him, they want me."

The Doctor paused at this, scrutinizing Arthur closely. He peered at him, looked him up and down, circled him once, tapping his chin. Harry rolled his eyes, mouthing ' be patient' at Arthur. Rose was smiling while Merlin looked perplexed. After a few moments, the Doctor turned to the knights.

"Him, you want him? I mean, yeah, he's important. It would be near impossible for Britain to evolve the way it did without him, and magic would, well, we'll leave that speculation for another time. But he's not temporally relevant. Stays linear his whole life. Nothing Temporally schismatic about this human."

Arthur felt like he should be insulted but he couldn't quite figure out why.

"Doctor, may I inquire as to what is going on?" Merlin stepped forward, staff planted firmly in front of him as he stood behind his charge.

Harry tilted his head. "Me too dad. How do they know me?"

"Well, I mean, could that wait until after the androids with laser swords leave?"

"I don't think they plan on leaving without Arthur," Rose pointed out, still watching the six horsed knights. "In fact, if I'm not mistaken, they didn't look too happy with you showing up." She frowned. "Or, you, I think," she turned, pointing at Merlin.

"We are not concerned with Bad Wolf or The Oncoming Storm or Merlin Emrys. We seek Arthur Pendragon. Give us the Next and Future King." The androids' voices weren't trying for humanoid qualities anymore.

The Doctor, however, was having none of it. He paced the ground between himself and the knights. "Alright, I get that, but what for? I mean, look at you all, you are definitely not Earth-made, well, not from this time, I would think. And you could only get those names from a handful of sources left alive, none of which have any significant time travel technology. So you're stolen tech, which I get, make use of what you have. But without even doing a basic reprogramming of your memory circuits? Were you just pulled out of a scrap heap?"

Harry tugged on his dad's jacket, looking behind him with an urgent look on his face. "Uh, dad, I think we're about to have a problem of similar magnitude here in just a moment." The Doctor blinked down at his son. "Arthur's dad is coming. I can see the penitents flying."

The Doctor groaned. "Oh, that's not good. That's very very not good. How did he manage to find out?"

"Did you really think that the prince could just vanish from the castle without someone noticing?" Rose asked.

"Well, before all this happened, I would say yes. Which is what I'm here for. But on top of the commotion, I'm sure he sent for Arthur and panicked when he couldn't be found." Merlin gestured to the general population surrounding them in mixtures of confusion and fear. Most had backed away now and were huddling by buildings and near walls. "And upon not finding Arthur or I within the castle, well, taking a regiment of guards towards the marketplace where the noise was coming from isn't exactly unreasonable. Though maybe lacking a bit of foresight. He could have sent knights instead of coming himself. "

Rose sighed. "Now we have to play politics as well as all this mess." Rose gathered her wits. "I'll deal with the king, you handle the knightbots." The Doctor made to protest, but Rose gave him a sharp look. "I have had over a century of experience running the largest pre-space international government-affiliated program on Earth with fewer international incident than you manage to get into in a week. I'm sure I can handle a worried king better than you can at the moment. So go deal with the knightbots and leave the politicking to me."

The Doctor stood, gaping, while Rose turned and headed towards the approaching group. Harry laughed. "She sure told you dad," he snorted.

Merlin grinned. "Remarkable woman," he said.

Arthur wasn't sure what to think, but that was quickly sorted when he felt a hard hand close around his shoulder. One of the knights had managed to get a grasp of him while no one was paying attention. It was a painful, crushing sort of grasp that Arthur was sure could turn his shoulder into mashed potatoes if it so wished. He stayed very still.

"Um...Harry's dad...Doctor? Um, I think I might be in trouble..." Arthur stammered out, relieved to see the tall, skinny man turn towards him, wide brown eyes narrowing.

"Alright now, stop that. You cannot take Arthur Pendragon. He is a fulcrum of history. A point that, if it so much as wavers, changes the future of humanity. Let him go!"

For all of the Doctor's words, the android knight thing wasn't releasing him.

"We will take Arthur Pendragon with us. You are no longer required." Swords began to raise, and the Doctor pulled out a cylindrical object with a glowing blue top. It looked like a small fire of some kind, but Arthur knew the Doctor didn't have magic, Harry had said so.

"Oi, now, nothing funny otherwise, well," he brandished the silver fire holder with one hand.

"That is...a sonic device. What do you intend to do with that?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Ah, well, I could do this." He pressed the button on the side and the blue light glowed. The knights shook their swords after a few moments, then realised that they weren't going to work before they abandoned them.

"You interfered with the command relay and disabled the interface protocols. You may have spare this town but Arthur Pendragon is still ours."

"Oh, I don't think so," the Doctor started, but he didn't get another word in edgewise and Arthur was lifted up in a strong grip and the world began to fall away from him. Rapidly. He felt his stomach drop to his feet.

"Arthur! Arthur! Don't worry, we'll come get you!" Harry was shouting at him and Arthur could just barely make out the words. His body was rigid and he was being held up by an enormous strength. How, he wasn't sure. It wasn't human strength holding him up, not with his feet dangling in the air. He was flying as well, which he hadn't believed possible. Sure, when Merlin had been annoyed he had taken a trip up to the ceiling, but never higher than that. Now he was sure he was higher than the highest castle turret and rising higher still.

He sincerely hoped his captors didn't let him fall.

~~~This is a Scene Break~~~~

"I demand to know what is going on!"

The situation, Harry thought, couldn't possibly get any worse. Arthur had been taken by androids dressed up as knights, after being out of the castle on Harry's insistence, and now King Uther was down here, making a fuss and no doubt demanding to know why his son was out of the castle in the first place.

Uther didn't even know who Harry was. This was not going to make things pretty. At all.

"Sir, if you could just calm down, please," Rose was trying to placate him, standing between the king and the clearing Arthur had just been taken from.

"I want to know what happened! What happened to my son, why was he out here without a guard, who are you people?" The king's voice kept rising.

Merlin finally stepped forward, hands raised in a calming gesture. "Sire, these are friends of mine. I invited them into the castle. The child is a magic user and will be looking to me for tutelage. The tall man is his father and the girl is their friend. The Doctor will be able to explain what he can when we return to the castle. Right now, this area is unsafe and needs to be cleaned up. Your guards can stay and assist. Also, some should go check the front gate, to see what has befallen the gate guards."

Uther blinked, looked around him, at the destruction that had taken place, then taking in each of the newcomers with suspicious eyes. Harry stood next to his father, resolute.

Soon, the guards had been dispatched to assist in the clean up and Harry, the Doctor, and Rose were heading up to the castle.

"Harry, what were you doing with Arthur outside the castle walls?" his dad asked him n a whisper as they followed Merlin and Uther.

Harry fidgeted. "Um, well, I wanted to see the market and I didn't really want to go with a whole regiment so I convinced Arthur to wear clothes that didn't make him stand out. I mean, no one recognized him so it wasn't a big deal. And Arthur agreed with it so, well," Harry trailed off and his dad sighed.

"Alright, alright. This will be fun," the Doctor said in a tone that definitely didn't say fun.

"What were those things? I mean, they called me something strange, and they weren't human. What did they want with Arthur?"

"I can't answer all of that right now Harry, but I will. Soon."

They walked in silence the rest of the way up to the castle.

Silence followed them all the way into the throne room, where Uther dismissed his guards and turned to face the three strangers.

"Alright, I would like answers now. I would have sent riders after my son immediately if he hadn't been...taken in such a strange manner. Merlin says you, Doctor, may have some answers. I would appreciate hearing them. And why my son was down in the market without an escort." Uther was every inch the king at the moment, blazing eyes and regal posture. It made Harry slightly nervous, especially since it was essentially his fault Arthur had been where he was.

"Um, sire?" Harry said, stepping forward and gathering what courage he could. Normally he wouldn't have any issues speaking to whichever ruler of whatever territory he was in, but Arthur had been his friend and this was his father. It put a different spin on things.

Uther blinked, looked down at the boy who had stepped forward. "Yes? And you are?"

"Harry, sire. Um, Merlin's gonna be teaching me, when he can, after this is over, but I know why Arthur was down in the market."

"Well, tell us, please," Uther gestured around.

Harry sighed. "It was my fault. I wanted to see the market and I convinced Arthur that if he didn't dress like a prince he wouldn't look like one. He wore a hat and everything. Didn't look like a prince, so we weren't stopped heading through the gates."

Uther was still for a moment. Then he couldn't help the grin that stole over his features for a second. "So, you're saying a boy younger than Arthur convinced him to not look like a prince? Aside from the preposterousness of the whole situation, that is interesting. And no one recognized him?"

Harry shook his head. "No one could see his hair, and he wasn't dressed up, so he didn't look like a prince."

Uther nodded, though he didn't look any less perplexed. "Well, that is partly Arthur's fault. I understand, though why he listened to a boy several years his junior is curious. So we know why he was in the market. What happened down there? Merlin?"

Merlin shrugged, helpless. "It wasn't magical in nature, I checked. I thought their flight was aided by magic but there were no signs of it. And there was some kind of force preventing me from using my magic to bring Arthur back to the castle."

The Doctor sighed. "I was afraid you would say that."

Uther looked at him. "And who are you? Merlin informs me that you are the young boy's father. You have raised a rambunctious young one. But you also appear to have knowledge of what occurred."

The Doctor spread his hands out. "I'm the Doctor, and yes, I am Harry's father. Those knights weren't human, they were androids. Specifically Draconian in nature, most likely. They could also be Verixi, Kersphrish, or Yevalkytvn. Not sure exactly, all those races had sufficient technology and a grudge against humanity at one time or another. Though only Draconians and Kersphrish had contact with Gallifrey, but maybe I haven't met them yet, so that's where they got that information, and it could be completely possible that they come from my future timeline, in which case there is a lot I could influence now that I don't know yet, and also..." the Doctor started rambling.

"Doctor, the main point?" Rose interjected quickly, hoping to hold off the tide of musings. The Doctor looked at her, startled, then nodded.

"Yes, yes, well, their origin isn't really important at the moment, seeing as how they weren't operating under any of their previous command signals. Really, considering who else was present, taking Arthur was a pale shade of the possibilities." The Doctor saw the king's face transform into one of confused irritation. "Well, Arthur is important here, in this time. But Merlin was also there, and he is probably the most powerful magic user to have been born on Earth." The Doctor sent a smile towards the aforementioned wizard, who just nodded, keeping his face bland. "And then Rose and myself were present, though taking either of us is just asking for trouble. But what gets me is why Harry wasn't their target. Not that I'm not immensely grateful that Harry is safe and not kidnapped, but the value he holds in the time continuum is, well, there isn't really a measure on it."

Harry clenched his fists. He had heard his dad talk about what he was supposed to become, but it was rarely so blatant. "Dad..." he started.

"Why is that, Doctor?" Uther asked, "Why is Harry so much more important?" The king's voice was tight in controlled anger.

Rose stepped forward, raising a diplomatic hand to forestall anything the Doctor might have said in reply that would have ended with more problems than they currently had. "Alright, let's deal with what problems we have now. Arthur's been kidnapped by androids that have been stolen and repurposed. We need to figure out where he is, who ordered the kidnapping, and how we can get him back. So let's start there, yes?" Her voice was calm and cool.

Merlin also stepped forth. "I tracked the enchantment on Arthur towards the west for about a hundred leagues before I lost it. We can assume he has been brought further than my range extends. We can start that direction and I can try to pick up the enchantment again, though I doubt it. It was a ranged one, and now that it is too far from my magic, it can't replenish itself. It will likely expire before sundown." Merlin sighed. "I wish I had taken more precautions, but I didn't expect him to stray that far from the castle's stronghold without my presence."

Uther nodded. "Thank you, Merlin. We at least have a direction. I shall organize a search party. We can send out the best knights..."

"Um, excuse me? Well, your knights are brilliant and all, but these are androids."

"I don't know what those are," Uther finally admitted, sighing. "Are they magic, knights from a distant land? Why wouldn't my knights be effective against them?"

"No, they aren't magic. That might make things easier, to be honest. They are robots...fake humans. they are made up of moving metal parts. they are stronger and faster than humans, they have weapons that can defeat a human knight with a single swing." The Doctor waved his hands around. "Human knights wouldn't stand a chance."

"So what do you propose we do?" Uther asked, wondering why he was still listening to the raving man in front of him. The blonde woman was tolerable, smart even. Harry, the boy, while strange, at least knew how to act in the presence of a king. This man, he held no respect, awe, or humbleness, even standing right in front of the king. He was sorely tempted to have his guards throw the man out. But then he would never get his son back. He could tell that much.

"Um, dad? I think I might have something that may help." Harry had been waiting for an opportunity to present it to his dad. He had found the object the moment the stepped into the throne room. His hands had been fidgeting in his pockets when a small, strangely colored spherical object tumbled out of a fold in his waistband. He bet to pick it up, curious at the odd golden/orange sheen it let off. But then his father launched into detailed explanations and Harry hadn't found the right moment to intercede. Or at least stop the tirade.

The Doctor, Rose, Merlin and Uther all looked at Harry. "What s it Harry?" the Doctor asked.

Harry held out his hand. "I found it in my clothes. It isn't money, none that I have on me, I know all of those. But I don't know where it came from. If I had had it earlier, it would have fallen out before. I was standing the closest to those androids, so I figured it may have come from them. It hasn't done anything yet, so I'm not sure what it is." Harry stepped forward, handing over the small seed.

The Doctor looked at it, examining it closely, turning it over in his hand, smelling it. "I know this. I've seen something like this before. Where have I seen it before, where have I seen it before, come on brain, work..." The Doctor paced the room, muttering to himself. Rose sent a wry glance at Harry, who shrugged.

Merlin moved closer to Harry. "Is this normal?" he asked in an undertone.

"WHen dad can't figure something out, he paces, a lot. Having to cycle through centuries worth of memories doesn't make remembering specific details easy."

Merlin blinked. "I...see," he said, sounding like he didn't.

Rose grinned. "You'll get used to it. Just give him a bit. He'll remember. If he hasn't already, it must have been quite a while ago. It doesn't usually take this long to remember something."

The Doctor was, in fact, trying to recall just where he had seen the small object he now held. Not in this regeneration, and he didn't think it was in big ears time either, so it must have been before then? That was...disconcerting. He hadn't expected to search that far back. But he almost had it. It was...it was...

"Ah-ha! This is, oh, this is not good. Definitely not good. I hadn't expected this at all."

Uther restrained the urge to throw the enigmatic man out himself. "What is it? Will it help us find my son?" Arthur. Arthur had been taken hours ago. Panic was beginning to set in.

"Maybe. But this isn't good at all." The Doctor stared at the sphere with trepidation. "Very not good."

"Doctor,"Rose interrupted. "What, exactly, is very not good?"

"This! This seed!"

"That's a seed?" Harry asked, puzzled. "But...it's sorta glow-y and shiny."

"Yes, well, its a seed from a Time Tree, which explains, I think, why the android knights are here. Though that doesn't help me narrow down how it got here precisely."

"What is a Time Tree?" Urther asked, a note of disbelief in his voice.

"Oh, well, they originated on the planet Hirath, not sure what time. The temporal instability there made it impossible to get any sort of proper reading. Thanos System. Didn't have a lot of run-ins in that particular system, they were much to hit-the-non-believers-with-laser-guns type for me, but they do have a history on Earth." The Doctor peered down at the seed. "it's harmless in this state, no metal-rich soil for it to grow in, but if it came from those androids, then they must be near a Time Tree, which doesn't bode well for anyone."

Merlin tried to process the information. It seemed incredible, but he also had figured out that one didn't doubt the Doctor. He and his blue box and impossible son were just the start of the mystery, and not the important part. "I must ask, what does this time tree do that makes it so dangerous?" he said.

The Doctor beamed at him. "Well, on their own they can't really do much-"

"But I thought you said they were on a temporally unstable planet?" Harry interjected.

"They weren't causing the instability. That was a space-time prob sent by a race unimaginatively named the Kruks. Two of them, actually, and they crashed on Hirath and started leaking temporal pollution, destabilizing the planet. Might have been what caused the trees in the first place...hmmm, that's an interesting thought..." the Doctor trailed off, frowning.

"No time for that Doctor, the point?" Merlin prodded.

"Ah, yes, the point. Well, a time tree is a life-for that, when you pull its berries, you can be transported back anywhere from a few minutes to thousands of years. It's not very reliable. Aa race called Tractites used it. They sent a reconnaissance first, but he ended up in the 20th century, while his comrades ended up thousands of years in Earth's past. They were trying to...oh, well, there's an idea." The Doctor stopped, eyes widening.

Uther leaned forward. "Will it help me find my son?"

"It just might. The Tractites, when I originally faced them, oh, some centuries ago, they had fle their homeworld. the 1st Human Empire had invaded their planet for resources and enslaved the people, then killed almost all of them. A small group fled, found a time tree, and went into Earth's past to erase humans from history. They failed, but this might be another one of their reconnaissances. Though that doesn't explain the androids..."

Uther had grown tired of this musing. "I am sending out a group of knights to find my son. You can join them Doctor, as long as you are not a hinderance." Uther looked at Rose. "I would suggest you stay here, but I can see from your face that this will not be. I must reuest, then, you allow Merlin to place a protective spell on you?" Rose smiled at Uther, then nodded her head, acuiesing to the request. "Thank you. Merlin, you will come with us as well?"

"Yes, sire."

"I'm coming too!" Harry pipped up.

his dad shot him a look. "Harry..."

"I agree with your father, young Harry. It is dangerous for a child..."

"Arthur is my friend, and it's my fault he was down in the market in the first place. And if you don't let me come with you, I'm just going to follow you."

Rose laughed. "Oh, yes, I can see it now."

The Doctor turned betrayed eyes to Rose. "You aren't supposed to side with him" he whined.

Rose humphed. "You obviously don't know your own son, Doctor. The moment we were out of the gate, Harry would be right there, horse saddled and everything. We wouldn't make it ten miles without him catching up and then it would be pointless to send him back. Might as well let him come from the start. Then you'll know where he is."

The Doctor groaned. "Fine, fine, but Harry, no wandering off. At all. Understand?"

Harry nodded.

Uther watched this with amusing, trading a smile with Merlin. "Alright, Merlin will show you to the stables. We ride in a candle's mark."

"You are coming as well, sire?" Merlin asked.

Uther nodded. "Of course. He is my son."

"I would recommend against it, but I can see that won't be happening. I shall lay a speel on you as well. I would offer the same for Harry, but it wouldn't have any effect, I'm afraid. It would wear off too quickly." He tilted his head, tapping his chin in thought. "Though I believe that will be your first lesson, young one."

Harry grinned, ecstatic. Magic lessons and a rescue mission. This day was turning out interesting.

~~~~~~This is an Ending~~~~~

And there you go! To everyone who has reviewed, thank you! If I haven't gotten back to you yet, I will, probably within minutes of posting this. If I can't reply back to you, Thank you so much for your support! It means so much to me! It guilts me into writing when I have writer's block, so I at least stare at the page trying to figure out what to write next. .

I'll get the next chapter out sooner, promise!

Kuroi


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